How much is a human life worth? Could you hazard a guess at the federal government’s answer? Try $8 million, give or take a couple, depending on the agency that’s coming up with the figure. An article published by The New York Times about the process of setting the value of a human life caught our interest. The government must have a system in place to come up with this number, so it can set safety regulations for businesses. But each agency seems to have a different formula for coming up with the figure. Louise Story, Wall Street and Finance Reporter for our partner The New York Times explains how the feds come up with these numbers. And to help us understand whether it’s really possible to place monetary value on human life is Peter Singer, philosopher and Professor of Bioethics at Princeton University.
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