A Life Worth Amanda Ripley Summary

In the article ‘What is a Life Worth?’ Amanda Ripley wrote about how they put a dollar value on life starting in the late 1800’s. She talked about how the victims families of the 9/11 terrorist attack was affected by this in how much money they got back. The formula they used was based on the annual income of how many years they would have worked until they would have retired. They way the government determined the amount to pay the victim’s family following the 9/11 tragedy was the right decision. In paragraph 5 of the article Ripley stated that “The government, for the first time ever, has agreed to write large checks to victim’s families without any litigation. The checks will arrive within four months after a claim is filed - no legal fees, no agonizing 10-year lawsuit.” The families would not have to worry about having to wait years just to get the money they need, but get it in a couple of months from when the attack occurred. But the amount of money would be based on how much the victim would have earned over his/her lifetime if the attack had never happened. By doing this
Ripley wrote that “... the lifetime earnings have been boosted by a flat $250,000 for ‘pain and suffering’ - noneconomic losses, they are called. Tack on an extra $50,000 in pain and suffering for a spouse and for each children.” So the amount of money each family should be more than enough for them to live off of. It seems that they have nothing to worry about in the long wrong, if they use the money wisely and not by buying things that they do not need. She also wrote that “Congress created the fund as a safety ned for the victims’ families, to ensure that they maintain something resembling their current standard of living - whether they get assistance from private insurance or government money.” So it was created so they can keep their standard of living. Not for them to be able to improve the way they