Feinberg

The Victims Compensation Fund that was created after the September 11 terrorist attacks brought far-reaching ethical implications into debate. The VCF shows how a public official can hold responsibility for assessing the monetary value of lives to compensate families due to a national disaster. Kenneth Feinberg accepted this responsibility, taking on a very controversial, difficult role.

I would first like to say that Feinberg took on a job that no one would envy. He had to put his name behind the compensations to the families. Taking responsibility for such a difficult task that also involves immense public scrutiny is an act that exemplifies how a public official sacrifices his own name for the good of the public. Although, one thing that did bother me about Feinberg was the fact that he stated his reasoning for the decisions he made were because of congressional mandate. This is a case of individual responsibility vs. hierarchical responsibility. Feinberg tried to dodge any responsibility by claiming that he was just carrying out orders. I believe he needed to assume more responsibility due to his willingness to accept the job.

How does one decide how the compensation should be calculated? The VCF looked at the economic loss the death brought along with some other criteria. This translated into a higher compensation for richer families and a lower compensation for poorer families. I believe this calculation was unjust due to the huge differential it created. It would have been a more just compensation if they were all at or near the same rate for each family. I do not believe you can look at the economic loss. Instead it would have been more beneficial to give out a flat rate or very close to a flat rate.

Another issue I had with the VCF was the selectiveness of the fund. Why is the government doling out money to these victims and not that of other national tragedies? This is what leads me to believe that the VCF was a purely political maneuver. It was an attempt to protect the public institutions that were at risk for lawsuits. I don't think that there is a problem with that, but I do think there is a problem with pretending the VCF is for the victims, and not for the government.