Wanted: an economist to build the karmameter

Still thinking about the karmameter...

If we assume that time = money, the karmameter is a question of economics. What is the best use of my time/money? Does my money do more good in my savings account keeping me self-sufficient, or in my spending account boosting the economy, or being given to charity to help the less fortunate, or being paid out in taxes to support the social safety net? There's probably a pie chart of the optimal balance, like you see in mutual funds.

Are more expensive, more ethical purchases worth it in how much good you're getting for your dollar? If I could can buy a dozen cheap Made In China shoes for the price of one pair of good shoes manufactured in a factory that meets EU labour standards, I'd be supporting more people's livelihoods but promoting poorer working conditions - especially if I bought the cheap shoes at multiple stores. There must be a threshold somewhere.

Even on a more personal level - for example, right now the work I'm doing is emotionally excruciating, but it's ultimately going to help the people whose stories I find emotionally excruciating. So I'm neglecting all kinds of my obligations to myself and to society just so I can keep myself in a state where I can complete this project properly. But there must be a cost-benefit threshold in there somewhere (if not within the range of reality then at least in the pool of theoretical possibilities) where the good I'm doing by doing this translation properly no longer outweighs my neglect of my other obligations.

Karma is basically a series of cost-benefit ratios. It sounds like the job for an economist.