The Market Value of Life

I come from a small town in Maine populated year round by mostly poor people. Every summer, it doubles in size to accommodate a bunch of mostly rich people. This is true of a lot of places in Maine.

At the beginning of the pandemic, that rich contingent came early. This is one of the many reasons I did not leave the city earlier. Granted, rich people tend not to get sick because they have people for that, but some of them definitely brought coronavirus to my adopted hometown right at that moment people started taking it seriously.

The kind of people who do this are exactly what you would expect: too entitled to live, too privileged to die. The supermarkets were a mess as they swarmed in, complained about the lines, and shouted at people doing their jobs.

One person I know was in one of these supermarkets, and had managed to get the last bottle of rubbing alcohol she needs for preexisting medical reasons. One of the rich people panic-buying toilet paper and bleach came up to her and offered her 300 dollars for it.

This rich person who I know nothing about but was definitely from Connecticut assumed my acquaintance was buying the alcohol for the same reason the rich person wanted it. The rich person had no way of knowing my acquaintance needed it for more pressing issues. That doesn’t matter: if the rich person was making the assumption they shared the same concerns, then the rich person knew they were both trying to avoid dying, and one infected surface might make the difference.

The rich person made a calculation. They tried to determine on the spot what amount of money would make the other person give up their safety. It was 300 dollars. My acquaintance refused, and I assume the rich person either screamed at them or didn’t understand how a non-rich person could turn down that kind of money.

So the next time you wonder how much the life of a non-rich person trades for in the free market, remember it’s less than 300 dollars. 300 dollars is the amount the rich will offer for your life to your face when they’re scared.

Do Not Caress Grass.