In America, families receive money from the government as compensation for when an immediate family member passes away. However, although life has been granted a cash value, one must keep in mind that this is only compensation to a family for the income of the deceased. It is not an actual calculation of their worth. In reality, it is immeasurable. The value of life is too potent and influencial to be assigned a dollar value.
Several sources attempt to produce a number representing your life value, such as The Human Life Calculator (www.lifehappens.org). However, these generators are inaccurate for several reasons. The first is that the information they give only regards financial worth. This cuts out their social and even political value from its calculations, making it an unreliable form of information. For example, according to The Human Life Calculator, I am worth just a bit over 2,000,000 (keep in mind this is supposed to equal out a life). However, the questions given only asked about my job and my family. It asked nothing of my friends and nothing of my dreams. It is, in essence, wrong. Furthermore, it lacks accuracy. According to the site’s disclaimer, “This human life value calculator should not be viewed as a comprehensive assessment...[as]...it does not account for the specific occupation and education of you or your spouse”. It assumes that your spouse has the same job with the same pay. However, in a majority of families, this is not the case. Life cannot be calculated technically, because there are so many factors that can alter one’s overall life value.
Therefore, there are too many nuts and bolts in life to calculate. Amanda Ripley comments on this statement in her article “What is a Life Worth?”. She states, “The concept of assigning a price tag to a life has always made people intensely squeamish...but until now, the public at large has not had to reckon with the process and its imperfections” (para 1). Here, she remarks that the people have misconceived the idea of government compensation as a determination of someones life worth, and that this is due to the sheltered lives Americans live every day. Furthermore, it lacks accuracy. According to the site’s disclaimer, “This human life value calculator should not be viewed as a comprehensive assessment...[as]...it does not account for the specific occupation and education of you or your spouse”. It assumes that your spouse has the same job with the same pay. However, in a majority of families, this is not the case. Life cannot be calculated technically, because there are so many factors that can alter one’s overall life value.
