Actually most federal agencies do conduct a cold-blooded cost/benefit analysis when considering new safety regulations. The statistical value of a human life is around $10M. The problem is that they don't consider second-order effects as a "cost" within that framework. And realistically there's no way for regulators to estimate those effects.

https://journalistsresource.org/economics/value-statistical-...

The Department of Health and Human Services releases a figure every year. Their current estimate ranges from $6.6 million to $21.5 million.

Note also, that we also often talk about statistically life years and statisicsl quality life years; both of which would value the lives of infants higher than an average life.

https://aspe.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/documents/2d83af582...