\nWhy do we even ask what value<\/strong> is assigned to a person? In politics, insurance, and economics, decisions rest on metrics\u2014health protection, climate action, care programs, and infrastructure investments. If we make such decisions, we must understand how they arise and where their limits lie. Ultimately, it\u2019s not about cutting costs<\/em> or maximizing profits<\/em>, but about life, dignity, and solidarity<\/strong>.<\/p>\n
Income as the ultimate metric: the human capital approach<\/h2>\n
The human capital approach<\/strong> equates a person\u2019s value with their expected future earnings. All future salaries are estimated, discounted to the present, and summed. A thirty-year-old in Germany thus has human capital between \u20ac1.8 and \u20ac2.5 million<\/strong>. Children and retirees fall to nearly zero because they generate no future earnings. Unpaid care work\u2014like family caregiving worth over \u20ac206 billion<\/strong> annually in Germany\u2014goes uncounted.<\/p>\n While human capital values income, the Value of Statistical Life (VSL)<\/strong> is based on how much people are willing to pay to reduce their mortality risk. Authorities use this to balance costs and benefits for speed limits or air quality measures. International comparisons reveal vast differences: a Swiss VSL is about $9.4 million<\/strong>, in the U.S. it\u2019s $7.2 million<\/strong>, Germany\u2019s is \u20ac3.5 million<\/strong>, and the global average is only about $1.3 million<\/strong>. Thus, a statistical Swiss life is nearly ten times more \u201cvaluable\u201d than one in low-income countries.<\/p>\n A flat VSL creates age paradoxes: all ages are equally valued despite vastly different remaining life expectancies. To address this, VSL is divided by remaining years of life\u2014Value of Statistical Life Year (VSLY)<\/strong>. A thirty-year-old with roughly 50 years left has a VSLY of about \u20ac70,000 per year<\/strong>, whereas an 85-year-old with five years left reaches roughly \u20ac700,000 per year<\/strong>. So, while human capital declines with age, VSLY rises.<\/p>\n In healthcare, older adults are costly and profitable. In the U.S., those over 85 incur nearly twice<\/strong> the Medicare costs of the 65\u201384 group. In Germany, over 40%<\/strong> of health expenditures serve those 65 and older, though they comprise only 22%<\/strong> of the population. Simultaneously, the U.S. eldercare market soared: assisted living rose 34.4%<\/strong> and home care 50.5%<\/strong> (2013\u20132020), totaling $57.4 billion<\/strong>.<\/p>\n Suicide prevention\u2019s ROI varies by age. In the U.K., workplace interventions yield a 4.42:1<\/strong> ROI, but none is calculated for retirees. An Australian study labels elderly interventions \u201cless cost-effective\u201d since productivity losses are smaller. This means we invest in \u201cproductive\u201d age groups while sidelining the elderly.<\/p>\n The state gauges each citizen\u2019s revenue potential by their taxable income, VAT contributions (around \u20ac251 billion<\/strong> annually in Germany), and social security premiums. Excise taxes on tobacco or energy steer behavior and fund the government. All these figures feed into the National Accounts<\/strong> for budget and debt forecasting.<\/p>\n These methodologies measure only what can be quantified: income, consumption, risk. They leave out quality of life<\/strong>, relationships<\/strong>, cultural identity, and human dignity. Deciding solely with money reduces people to cost centers.<\/p>\n With just \u20ac0.09 a day<\/strong>, you join our rewilding cooperative, converting intensive livestock into extensive grazing, sequestering CO\u2082, and boosting biodiversity. Every contribution helps protect our Mother Earth<\/strong>\u2014our \u201cnursery room.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIf you really want something done, do it yourself.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n We are members of the Global Alliance for the Rights of Nature<\/strong>. Sign our petition and share responsibility with us.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Dear readership, when human life becomes a number Why do we even ask what value is assigned to a person? In politics, insurance, and economics, decisions rest on metrics\u2014health protection, climate action, care programs, and infrastructure investments. If we make such decisions, we must understand how they arise and where their limits lie. Ultimately, it\u2019s…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":54,"featured_media":24135,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[605,625,601],"tags":[557,430,429,252,250,553,544,555,510,552,558,207,266,596,547,550],"class_list":["post-24133","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-europe-and-the-world","category-fact-check","category-human-and-fundamental-rights","tag-climateaction","tag-earthguardian","tag-earthprint","tag-francesco-del-orbe","tag-fresopolis","tag-garn","tag-humanrights","tag-motherearth","tag-news","tag-regeneration","tag-rightsofmotherearth","tag-sustainability","tag-sustainable","tag-transformation","tag-weallaretheworld","tag-world-vision"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nValuing life in dollars: what is the Value of Statistical Life (VSL)?<\/h2>\n
Annual value of life: introducing the VSLY<\/h2>\n
The dual reality: older adults as costs and profit sources<\/h2>\n
Cost-effectiveness of suicide prevention: who counts?<\/h2>\n
Consumption as state capital<\/h2>\n
Seven worlds of human valuation<\/h2>\n
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![\"Wirtschaftsfaktor](\"https:\/\/earthguardian.earth\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/75-Kostenfaktor-2.jpg\" "\\"Wirtschaftsfaktor")
<\/p>\nThe ethical gap of monetary models<\/h2>\n
Putting people at the center<\/h2>\n
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A positive Earthprint starts today<\/h2>\n