Are Military Death Court Settlements Too Low?

When someone dies in the private sector, such as a wrongful civilian death or a workplace or environmental accident, the payout can be unbelievably large. This isn’t a problem in itself; the amount of money given for the life of a loved one can never replace the lost life. Some economists are upset though, because the amount of money given to family survivors of those who have died in Iraq or Afghanistan is only $500,000. This includes a $400,000 life insurance stipend and a ‘death gratuity’ of $100,000.

The following article takes a look at the statistics of payouts and discusses the recently published book from economists Linda Bilmes and Joseph Stiglitz, ‘The Three Trillion Dollar War’. The article focuses in on their idea of ‘value of statistical life’, measuring the amount of dollars given to veteran’s families, as opposed to the amount of money given for a private sector death.

This article also discusses the hidden cost to the public ($30 billion), and other ways that veterans and their families are being shortchanged by the government.

Military Death and Disability Benefits Short-Change Families of Veterans




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