From the New York Times article, Measuring Lost Freedom vs. Security in Dollars, this statement, “In a notice published last month, the budget office asked experts from around the country for ideas on how to measure “indirect costs” like lost time, lost privacy and even lost liberty that might stem from tougher security regulations.” The document referenced above is the Office of Management and Budget Draft 2003 Report to Congress on the Costs and Benefits of Federal Regulations. The article highlights the troubling and questionable application of monetary formulas to assess the impact of openly diminishing freedom and civil liberties.
See also this recent, related joint AEI-Brookings working paper (PDF), Sacrificing Civil Liberties to Reduce Terrorism Risk.