alt Hacker NewsWhile the us stance has resulted in savings on potential ransom, it has also lead to people being kept in prison for very long time until prisoner exchanges might be worked out. That cost to an individuals life being imprisoned is probably far in excess whatever the US might pay. Plus the US prints its own monopoly money and doesn’t really play by the rules of economics anyhow ever since getting off gold standard.
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That ransoms today are denominated in USD and that the US might be printing too many USD has nothing to do with whether or not ransoms should be paid.
The day the USD falls, ransoms will simply be denominated in something else and the same underlying collective action problem will remain.
This is just way of avoiding the core issue by blaming something unrelated that you don't like.
A: U should clean your room, it would be better for you & the rest of your family
B: FU dad, everyone knows there's no such thing as a clean room under capitalism!!!!!
Cash is not the real cost; the cost is by agreeing to continue printing ransom money, you cause more individuals to be kidnapped.
This is literally the exact point I am making, and the US policy isn’t about saving money.
Like you said (and like I said in my post), for an individual kidnap victim, the best option would be to pay the ransom. It is better to pay the money and be free.
However, that means a kidnap group now has more money, which will make them better able to kidnap another victim and demand more money.
The point of a “no ransom” policy is that it takes the choice away from the individual, who would choose to pay it, and changes the game theory to make kidnapping not worth it.
The whole reason you need a policy at all is BECAUSE it is better for the person to pay the ransom.