"The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) did something extraordinary as a preface to revoking the Endangerment Finding-they revised how they evaluate air pollution rules by not counting the benefits of lives saved and illnesses avoided. The technical term for what disappeared is the 'value of a statistical life' (VSL)-previously measured at approximately $11.7 million per person. In its place? Nothing. Zero."
"The agency claims that quantifying health benefits is too uncertain. Unverified compliance costs to industry, however, are conveniently concrete. To be clear, the ledger now tallies only what companies pay, not what people lose-the asthma attacks, hospitalizations, shortened lives, or deaths."
"If a human life has no economic value, then what does? Why do we have a healthcare system at all? Why invest trillions in hospitals, pharmaceuticals, or medical research if the outcome-people living longer, healthier lives-registers as meaningless?"
"If humans have zero intrinsic value, and corporations derive value only from human spending, then the sum total of economic value is also zero. Congratulations: every stock index should trade at $0."
The EPA has revised its evaluation of air pollution rules, eliminating the value of a statistical life, previously estimated at $11.7 million. This change means that regulatory decisions now ignore the health benefits of lives saved and illnesses avoided. The agency argues that quantifying health benefits is uncertain, while compliance costs are treated as concrete. This shift implies that human life has no economic value, raising questions about the purpose of healthcare and the economy itself, suggesting a potential collapse of economic value if human lives are deemed worthless.
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