Sunk costs, costs that have been irretrievably incurred, and which can't be changed by a decision, shouldn't play a role in the decision. Cognitive psychologists, however, tell us that they still sway us. A case in point:
"The Aleut Corp., a Native regional corporation trying to convert the abandoned Navy base on faraway Adak Island into a thriving new commercial fishing town, could receive exclusive rights to bottom fish worth $10 million a year or more under legislation [a rider to upcoming budget legislation - Ben] sponsored by U.S. Sen. Ted Stevens...
"...Ted Stevens, who chairs the powerful U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee, said giving the pollock to Adak is important for the state, for the Aleut people and for making some use of a military installation that cost taxpayers more than $3 billion."
Whatever the other merits of the decision, the money already invested in the base is a sunk cost. The complete story is to today's Anchorage Daily News: "Stevens' fish rider for Adak attacked.".
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