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Trump's Push to Open Economy Could Come at Cost of Lives

Associated Press

   WASHINGTON - The contrast could hardly be more stark. Gov. Andrew Cuomo
   of New York has said that if all of his sweeping, expensive measures to
   stem the coronavirus saved one life, it would be worth it. President
   Donald Trump has another view: The costs of shutting down the economy
   outweigh the benefits, frequently telling Americans that 35,000 people
   a year die from the common flu.

   Though it may seem crass, the federal government actually has long made
   a calculation when imposing regulations, called "the value of a
   statistical life," that places a price tag on a human life. It has been
   used to consider whether to require seat belts, airbags or
   environmental regulations, but it has never been applied in a broad
   public health context.

   The question is now an urgent one given that Trump in recent days has
   latched on to the notion that the cure for the pandemic should not be
   worse than the disease and argued that "more people are going to die if
   we allow this to continue" if the economy remains closed. He has
   targeted a return a semblance of normalcy for the economy by Easter
   Sunday, April 12.

   Critics say he's presenting the nation with a false choice at a moment
   when deaths and infections from the virus are surging.

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