WASHINGTON – The contrast could hardly be more stark. Gov. Andrew Cuomo of New York has said that if all of his sweeping, expensive measures to stem the corornavirus saved one life, it would be worth it.
President Donald Trump has another view: The costs of shutting down the economy outweigh the benefits, frequently telling Americans that 35,000 people a year die from the common flu.
Though it may seem crass, the federal government actually has long made a calculation when imposing regulations, called “the value of a statistical life,” that places a price tag on a human life.
It has been used to consider whether to require seat belts, airbags or environmental regulations, but has never been applied in a broad public health context.