
Boeing Crash Fight Will Set Price on Victims' Minutes of Terror - joering2
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-05-11/boeing-crash-fight-will-set-price-on-victims-minutes-of-terror
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chmod775
This whole situation was already depressing.

Now it is even more so considering that shareholders, who lost nothing of
_real_ value, are likely to receive to largest compensation.

"Hey your kid dying might make you feel sad, but look what happened to my
balance sheet! I'm the biggest victim here!"

If you insist on putting a monetary value on human life, at least make sure
you got your numbers in order.

Here's hoping some of those shareholders take that money and give it somewhere
where it does good. Personally I couldn't keep it and live with myself.

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twblalock
Shareholders lost money, which is definitely of value. Passengers lost their
lives. Both of these things are true, and both of them are losses, even though
one of those things is worse than the other.

> "Hey your kid dying might make you feel sad, but look what happened to my
> balance sheet! I'm the biggest victim here!"

No shareholder has said that, and I don't see anybody claiming that the
shareholders are the biggest victims.

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chmod775
> No shareholder has said that

Which is... rather the point? Nobody would ever say that, so nobody should
reasonably expect a larger compensation than the aggrieved families either.

I already get a migraine whenever I hear of _monetary_ compensation for the
loss of a human life, but this time it's just that much more twisted. Quoting
myself here:

> If you insist on putting a monetary value on human life, at least make sure
> you got your numbers in order.

The answer to whether we should put a price tag on a human life is: We should
not, but we have to. So let's at least get it right.

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jngreenlee
Straight line calculation(not what will really happen) shows $2.89MM per
family. Not out of line with US-valued wrongful death losses. Given that many
individuals are outside the US, this is probably a good place to be. Of course
its no replacement for a lost one.

Headline is clickbait though. It's only one involved component.

Yes, investors also are owed something. This is similar to VW emissions
cheating.

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taneq
You can always put a price on human lives, suffering etc. It's just not _nice_
so we pretend that you can't and assume a posture of indignant outrage when
anyone concedes that you can.

But what else are you meant to do, really, in this situation, where the only
possible compensation is financial?

~~~
fjsolwmv
You can set a price based on its effectiveness at deterring future
misbehavior, clawing back ill gotten gains, and building
prevention/mitigation.

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bahmboo
From the article: " such claims are no guarantee of a windfall for victims’
families". Windfall? what a terrible way to frame it as winning the lottery.

