Focus on Finance

Born London, 1933. Mother Canadian. Father a British civil servant. World War by Ashleigh Brilliant Questions by Robert Bernstein II childhood spent mostly in Toronto and Washington, D.C. Berkeley PhD. in American History, 1964. Living in Santa Barbara since 1973. No children. Best-known for his illustrated epigrams, called “Pot-Shots”, now a series of 10,000. Email ashleigh@west.net or visit www.ashleighbrilliant.com Degrees from Physics departments of MIT and UC Santa Barbara. Career in designing atomic-resolution microscopes. Childhood spent in Europe and the East of the US. Passion to understand the Big Questions of life and the uniOn the Road D on’t let them fool you. All roads do not lead to Rome – at least, not anymore. But: there is always a close connection between any some grateful user placed this inscription to be seen by travelers: Had you seen this road before it was A Price for a Human Life? verse. Duty to be a good citizen of the planet. N ew York Governor Cuomo said in March, “If it’s public health versus the economy, cases the government simply mandates policies. For example, starting in 1968 all cars were required to have road and whatever travels on it. Most of made, the only choice is public health. You seatbelts for all passengers. our roads today began as animal tracks. You would lift up your hands, and bless cannot put a value on human life.” U.S. healthcare policy is really an Animals didn’t need motels, or scenic General Wade. But public policy absolutely requires outlier among industrialized counviews. They bought no souvenirs, and placing a value on human life. There tries in that there is very little rational never wrote home. And the routes they There must be something emotionare about 35,000 automobile deaths assessment of value of life. The U.S. followed were not necessarily direct. So, ally appealing about the metaphorical each year in the U.S. If we reduced spends about $3.5 trillion each year people straightened them, smoothed concept of a road, considering how the speed limit to perhaps 10MPH the on healthcare, amounting to over them, and eventually sprinkled them often it appears in our songs and stodeath figure could be reduced to near$10,000 per person on average. But with all manner of “facilities.” ries. A classic example is the Scottish ly zero. Clearly, policy makers have that average is misleading. About 5%

There had of course been railroads song “Loch Lomond.” Many people placed a price on human life. of the population accounts for half of long before the first automobiles aren’t aware that it’s based on a legend So, what is the price of a human that spending. Meanwhile, about 30 appeared in 1895. So the most importthat, for Scots who die abroad, there is life? There have been different meamillion Americans have little or no ant roads became those which led to an underground pathway (“the Low sures over history. At one time the access to healthcare. and from the railroad stations. But Road”) by which their spirits return price was set by the earnings of the Britain has the National Institute for then came a new factor – the bicycle. home. The song supposedly expresses individual. This would be used in Health and Clinical Excellence, called These “easy and graceful machines,” the feelings of a Scottish leader who legal cases to assess a fair compensa“NICE,” to rationally allocate money as they were described at the time, had been captured by the English, tion to a family that lost its primary in its universal healthcare system. could theoretically go anywhere. But and was to be executed in London, earner. This clearly would depend on Their rulings are not always politthey had one great limitation. They to a friend who was free and would the age of the earner and the potential ically popular in individual cases. needed a fairly smooth surface to ride be taking “the High Road” back to for future earnings. But their outcome statistics are better on. It was, therefore, organized bicyScotland. When you know this story, But is that the best way to assign a than ours in the U.S. clists, not motorists, who spearheadit gives added poignancy to the words price? What about when someone dies Americans will rail against the very ed the first widespread agitation for “but I’ll be in Scotland before ye’.” who was disabled and could not work. idea of “rationing” of healthcare. But “Good Roads.” On a much lighter note, there was An actual court case ruled such a perwhat is the alternative to a ratio

But the better the roads became, the a series of seven “Road” movies feason is a liability and the family got zero. nal allocation of resources? The U.S. more problems they helped to spread, turing Bob Hope and Bing Crosby. If we base the price on the individrations healthcare, too. Just not very especially when the Mass Automobile The destinations included Singapore, ual value of a life, I might claim that rationally. came along. A good example was a Zanzibar, and Morocco. One gag the value of my own life is infinite In the case of the coronavirus, we certain weed, known to botanists as in one song from the latter film is and claim the value of others’ lives may have made a false dichotomy Tribulus Terrestris, but which became the only line I can remember from is something else. A more common between the value of a human life and unpleasantly familiar to motorists, any of them. It said, “Like Webster’s value today is given by the “Value the economic costs. First of all, ecoespecially in California, the most Dictionary, we’re Morocco bound.” of a Statistical Life” or VSL. This is nomic costs have real human costs. motorized State, as the “Puncture Some routes endeared themselves based on how much you would have There is a direct correlation between Vine.” The spiked seed pods of this to the public under particular names. to pay someone to raise their risk of higher unemployment rates and rates plant were found to be a great menace Best-known in California since death by a certain amount. Or how of suicide and domestic violence. to automobile tires. early Spanish days was the official much they would be willing to pay to But we can also look on the positive

The irony was that this plant had “Royal Highway,” connecting all the reduce their risk. side: We could invest in proper disasnot been at all common in California Missions. To this day, parts of that It is hard to do a survey for this ter preparedness and avoid some until cars began to proliferate. Then route are still called by the original number, but we can observe what peoof the economic impacts. Starting it was found to be spreading rapidly name, “El Camino Real.” ple actually choose. For example, how with adequate supplies of Personal all over the state. The reason was, of When motoring became popular, a much more people are paid for taking Protective Equipment. course, that the cars themselves were route was established in 1913 which extra risks on the job. This is called a We also could be investing in projspreading the pest, transporting its went entirely across the U.S., from “revealed preference.” The number ects that need to be done, but always seeds on their tires from one area to coast to coast. It was known affectionreveals about $10 million per life. get sidelined for more immediate prianother. No really satisfactory answer ately as the Lincoln Highway – but that Private companies make risk assessorities. Over a trillion dollars was to this problem was ever found, until designation was eventually converted ments based on the penalties they quickly printed at the start of the tires became less vulnerable. into various humdrum numbers. might have to pay if something goes COVID-19 crisis and handed out as

Many of the earlier roads were At least one of those numbered wrong. The case of the Ford Pinto is a stimulus. With no clear idea where made for military purposes – but all routes, however, acquired a cachet a famous example. Out of about two that money would end up. The Green people who used them were of course of its own. Route 66, which ran from million Pintos, there were six horrific New Deal was first promoted during benefited. In my own days of youthful Chicago to Los Angeles (and which, deaths due to poor placement of the the last economic crisis as Obama ran travel, much of which was by hitchwhen 17, I hitchhiked along in 1951), fuel tank in rear end collisions. Ford for president. But little ever came of it. hiking, one of my trips took me into became famous as the road followed calculated that it was cheaper to pay If we invested a trillion dollars in the Highlands of Scotland where, in by “Dust Bowl” refugees, celebrated compensation for the deaths and injusustainable transportation and energy the troubled times of the 18 th Century, in Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath. ries than to fix the problem. projects we would get the economic a British Field Marshall named George Eventually it was bypassed by the Governments can change these stimulus and keep people employed. Wade had been responsible for superInterstate Highway System – but cerassessments by setting fines or other But we would also get the benefit of vising the construction of roads pentain forsaken portions still lure tourpunitive damages. But in most cases solving the climate crisis and living in etrating some of the most rebellious ists who want to say they “got their these fines are smaller than the actual a healthier world. Perhaps that is the regions. Upon one such thoroughfare, kicks on Route 66.” •MJ damages that are caused. In other best value of life? •MJ 18 – 25 June 2020 • The Voice of the Village • MONTECITO JOURNAL 23