Marcotte is quoted as saying This is such a broad, general, and non-quantifiable statement. A right is something that "people's lives are made worse if they don't have them"? I don' t have a million dollars and when compared to someone who does, I'm sure my life is worse. I don't own a house. I have student debt which, thank god, I can pay, but I don't have the right to declare bankruptcy on. Can I get a house and discharge my student debt please? My life is much worse without these things. I think she means "significantly worse off" but it's still completely unquantifiable and subjective. And there are a lot of people who ride the bus 2-4 hours a day whose lives would be made a lot better if they had either better transportation or their own transportation. I don't see the gov't getting ready to assert that a car is basic human right though.We respect these rights because we know that people’s lives are made worse if they don’t have them.