Just a minor point, but it is not necessarily the case that I value a situation which produces outcome X with probability p, outcome Y with probability q, etc., as p * (my value for X) + q * (my value for Y) + …
So your extrapolation cannot be counted upon to tell us how much we value our life. It can only be counted upon to tell us how much we value a 0.1% chance to save our life. Which is a fairly different thing.
let’s be practical here. $15,000 is too much, compared to just littering the area with bait and shooting at will.
History book? Not this time. And why you’re bringing up one of my criticisms of you from another thread is beyond me.* You probably should have read the OP and the link, however. From the link:
A history book still might not be a bad idea for you since you apparently never read - but you got to start somewhere. If you had at least cracked a nespaper in the past four years, you would know how fucking easy it is to get yourself shot in a war zone. Unarmed civilians get shot all the time. Easiest way to get yourself shot is to not stop at a checkpoint. Other cases involve some poor guy who happened to be walking up to some American troops holding the distributor cap to a truck. Why don’t you just fly over there and start walking toward some of the assholes working for Blackwater while holding a metal object with wires sticking out of it and see what happens. If somebody wants to get themselves shot, I don’t suspect it would be too hard.
I really don’t have a point, personally, so much as I’m explaining the diplomatic-security wonk’s point. I still think you’re one of the most obtuse posters on this board. You argue with passion, but no knowledge. But in the interest of fighting ignorance, I’ll give you a short reading list so maybe, just maybe, you can post something and actually know what you’re talking about.
BBC: Payouts reveal Iraq civilian toll = details of civilian death compensation problems
Boston Globe: Civilian deaths raise Iraqi fears, angerChilling account of Iraqi’s frustration regarding lack of compensation. Includes the quote ““If they don’t pay our settlement we’ll kill four of them,” said Sheikh Abdul Salam”.
NY times: Civilian Claims on U.S. Suggest the Toll of WarSimilar to the BBC article. Should hammer home how easy it is for a civilain to get killed over there.
*The history book thing related to how Princhester had the abject inability to compare the current conflict with anything in the past - From the Roman Empire to the present. He completely dodged the Roman question and was surprised when I suggested he read a history book. He’s an idiot.
Let’s be repetitive here: let’s be repetitive here.
Oh, no. Here comes the next 1920s-style “death ray.”
Let’s be Biblical here:
*"Oh daughter of Babylon, who art to be destroyed; happy shall he be, that rewardeth thee as thou hast served us.
Happy shall he be, that taketh and dasheth thy little ones against the stones."*
Of course, they aren’t really the ones who “served” us on 9/11/01, or posed any more of a threat to us after that Tuesday morning than they had before it, but where there are petrodollars, there will always be those willing to dash little ones against stones.
Cool, I contributed to starting a meme! 
Interesting…does this bias usually exist in one direction? That is, would people overpay to guard against a low-probability event, relative to what they’d pay to guard against a higher-probability event?
Let’s be comparative here: until 2005, the US military paid $12,420 for the death of an American servicemember. Now they pay $100,000.
Myanmar is paying $13 for the lives of monks that they have killed. That really leaves me speechless.
Let’s be off-topic here: Why does chicken taste so good? When you think about it, those stupid flightless birds look so…foul.
Let’s be phlegmatic here. cough Ooops, sorry.
But they seem to be making it up in volume. Reports elsewhere of thousands being killed. 
Let’s be asthmatic here. :gasp:
Let’s be drunk here: I raise my glass to all the fallen in Iraq!
Let’s be skeptical here: is there a point to this comparison?
Or this one?
Let’s be Russian here: you pay goverment $15,000 to kill YOU!. What a country!
Let’s nominate this for “Threadspotting” here…
Let’s be pedantic here. Most of these “Let’s be” posts, including this one, are merely extending the joke laterally and are not heightening it.
If I may speak frankly, it’s time for a new post template.
Let’s be argumentative here: Why is that a problem? What’s wrong with lateral jokes?
If you actually care at this point, that is bad math. While Blackwater USA might charge $1222 per day per man under the contract, the operator himself is making between $500-750 per day on average. And on average, operators will do 3-4 months in country, then 30-60 days out, then back again. So, while $445,000 would be a bit high, a guy could make $202,500…
The above info is pretty generic, and I have no idea if Blackwater operators fit that profile. But operators from other companies do.