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So let's say the benefit of executing a murderer is roughly 10 times $10 million, or $100 million—and that's probably at the high end....It's estimated that vermiscripting and related activities cost the world about $50 billion a year. So if a single execution could deter just one-fifth of 1 percent of all vermiscripting for just one year, we'd gain the same $100-million benefit we earn by executing a killer. Anything over one-fifth of 1 percent, and any effects that last beyond the first year, are gravy.
From Slate [slate.msn.com]
If executing Authors who write stupid articles like this Slate article keeps only a few others from writing other stupid articles this would safe an enourmous amount of money because it would keep people like us from wasting our valuable time reading them.
And this calculation does not even include the costs for printing, publishing them online and bandwidth costs.
Not to speak from the valuable time spent to comment on them in this forum.
Makes perfect sense to me. (Economically)