After five seasons of viewing Shameless (Showtime), I've come to realize two things. The first, how in the name of debauchery could I recommend this series to anyone; the second, with this solid acting, directing and writing, how could I not. The show is quite entertaining. The characters are both comedy and tragedy. The anchor of the drama is Frank Gallagher. Before anything else, Frank is a scammer. He once had his kidney stolen by a cab driving surgeon. Actually, he was trying to buy a liver and he got taken. I digress.
Anyway, I have long been fascinated by the value of the human life. Insurance claims, surgery (reconstruction or otherwise), youth on-field concussions, health care premiums, politics / Roe v Wade, there has to be a formula for the value of a human life. Everything in nature can be deduced to a formula. When I watch a football game on TV, I always wonder if it would be worth $10 million dollars for three years if you knew you would have double hip replacements and early onset dementia by the age of 40. What is the return on that investment or net present value of this venture? Say you had $2 million in assets. You contract Hepatitis C. The cost to keep you alive for the next 10 years is $2 million dollars, what do you do? Roll the dice, enjoy the short time, and give the remaining balance to your kids? Put them through college, make sure they stand a chance in this world? Seriously, that I just let this readership know that I actually think about finance in that way, and that I have watched Shameless, may be a point of no return.
Anyway, I have long been fascinated by the value of the human life. Insurance claims, surgery (reconstruction or otherwise), youth on-field concussions, health care premiums, politics / Roe v Wade, there has to be a formula for the value of a human life. Everything in nature can be deduced to a formula. When I watch a football game on TV, I always wonder if it would be worth $10 million dollars for three years if you knew you would have double hip replacements and early onset dementia by the age of 40. What is the return on that investment or net present value of this venture? Say you had $2 million in assets. You contract Hepatitis C. The cost to keep you alive for the next 10 years is $2 million dollars, what do you do? Roll the dice, enjoy the short time, and give the remaining balance to your kids? Put them through college, make sure they stand a chance in this world? Seriously, that I just let this readership know that I actually think about finance in that way, and that I have watched Shameless, may be a point of no return.
It does make it a little easier to jot down a few notes on the subject, now that ProPublica published a thought provoking article last week. Not on the subject, but getting close. The title: How much is Your Arm Worth? Fascinating review of how each state determines its own workers' compensation benefits. Nearly every state has what’s known as a “schedule of benefits” that divides up the body like an Angus beef chart. So, your severed toe is worth $251,802 in Maryland, but only $26,000 in Minnesota. Sounds like Frank would pay the air fare and fly his toe to Maryland. Actually, he would use stolen frequent flier miles to get there....anyway. It does get difficult. The calculus can be quite dehumanizing. One worker in Alabama, lost her thumb and every finger, but her pinky, to a scrap wood conveyor. Instead of paying the larger sum for her entire hand, the mill's insurer offered her payment for each individual finger. We use only 'whole' numbers in the SSWM quest for a Total Value.
Add in the average black market price for the five major organs, liver, heart, lungs, pancreas and kidneys, total current value of the human body - $2,375,698. This is not adjusted for any harvesting fees, expenses may vary. Back to our football player. Over three years he is paid $277,778 per month for 36 months. Net Present Value based on 15% discount rate would return $5,277,336. What would you do? Sua Sponte.
Cheers Frank.
Bradford C. Bruner for Sua Sponte Wealth Management
