The problem with looking beyond hard facts (Dollars not being the only hard facts) to non measurable qualitative factors into policy analysis is that you lose the ability to judge the value/outcome of policies based on these factors because there is generaly no way to measure them to begin with.

I did take you initial post in the wrong light, and for that I apologize for not reading it a second time. I think there is real value in trying to ignore non-measurable factors when making decisions so that the results can be weighed against the factors that were used, this way policies can be refined over time in a more precise manner. I understand what you are saying and I do agree that boiling things down to dollars is not always adequate or good. But in general cost/benefit analysis does not only take into account real dollars, economist generally quantify many values when using such tools to guage policies.