Problem
Say it would cost $50 million to save a tiny fish species called the snail darter (Percina tanasi) from extinction. The snail darter lives in rivers in the Southeastern United States. This scenario is real -- and is one the most important events in the American conservation movement to test the Endangered Species Act. The snail darter went all the way to the Supreme Court in 1978!
How would you justify spending the money to an angry taxpayer who did not want public money spent on such a "silly little fish"?