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12-13-2008, 09:25 AM
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#1
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Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: Lake Livingston, Tx
Posts: 4,203
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Hoover Dam
Watching a TV show today, it was stated that it cost $60M dollars to build Hoover Dam, and that would be $600M in todays dollars. I got to thinking, does anyone think you could build Hoover Dam for $600M today, My guess more like $6B. So why the difference? Inflation is accounted for in the $600M.
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12-13-2008, 09:41 AM
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#2
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Full time employment: Posting here.
Join Date: Jan 2008
Posts: 649
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Rustic23
Watching a TV show today, it was stated that it cost $60M dollars to build Hoover Dam, and that would be $600M in todays dollars. I got to thinking, does anyone think you could build Hoover Dam for $600M today, My guess more like $6B. So why the difference? Inflation is accounted for in the $600M.
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I'm thinking along the lines of $6B myself. My company owns several dams, the largest is much smaller than Hoover and I've heard estimates within the company of well over $1B to duplicate that project 10 years ago.
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"There is no dignity quite so impressive, and no independence quite so important, as living within your means." Calvin Coolidge
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12-13-2008, 09:41 AM
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#3
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: North Oregon Coast
Posts: 16,483
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Rustic23
Watching a TV show today, it was stated that it cost $60M dollars to build Hoover Dam, and that would be $600M in todays dollars. I got to thinking, does anyone think you could build Hoover Dam for $600M today, My guess more like $6B. So why the difference? Inflation is accounted for in the $600M.
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Wages, benefits and employment costs have, on average, risen faster than inflation since Hoover Dam was built. That alone would account for a significant chunk of the difference.
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"Hey, for every ten dollars, that's another hour that I have to be in the work place. That's an hour of my life. And my life is a very finite thing. I have only 'x' number of hours left before I'm dead. So how do I want to use these hours of my life? Do I want to use them just spending it on more crap and more stuff, or do I want to start getting a handle on it and using my life more intelligently?" -- Joe Dominguez (1938 - 1997)
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12-13-2008, 09:47 AM
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#4
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Apr 2003
Location: Hooverville
Posts: 22,983
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ziggy29
Wages, benefits and employment costs have, on average, risen faster than inflation since Hoover Dam was built. That alone would account for a significant chunk of the difference.
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And hunting for snail darters most of the rest.
Ha
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"As a general rule, the more dangerous or inappropriate a conversation, the more interesting it is."-Scott Adams
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12-13-2008, 09:47 AM
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#5
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Administrator
Join Date: Apr 2006
Posts: 22,922
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I'm sure the regulatory compliance burdens are higher as well.
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Living an analog life in the Digital Age.
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12-13-2008, 09:50 AM
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#6
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Recycles dryer sheets
Join Date: Nov 2005
Posts: 331
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I live about 30 mins from Hoover Dam. Interesting place, lots of concrete poured and the art work, art deco is incredible, looks like it was built last year. Workmanship supreme.
As for cost, no health benefits, no unions, no rules, no drinking, strict work ethics, concrete made on site in plants, plenty of raw materials in area, no 401 k's, no pension costs. Just build housing for workers, and they came from all over. Worked for I believe 6 contractors who rules with an iron fist. They have a nice museum in Boulder city for a few bucks that tells the whole story.
jug
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12-13-2008, 09:55 AM
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#7
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Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Jul 2005
Posts: 2,223
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A ten fold increase figure for the cost of public works project is way off.
Look at steel , concrete , fuel, labor.
Diesel fuel was under 10 cents a gallon, recent ranges $2.00 - $4.00.
An engineer with a degree was working back then for about $40 a week, including bennies. Today, the same engineer , about $1,500 a week .
A skilled ironworker or carpenter cost under $10 a day , including overhead and bennies.
I am comparing apples to apples on the labor costs. Large gov't public works projects,( prevailing wage, etc. bla bla bla...)
Private sector cost's today will vary all over the country , sometimes a lot.
The CPI is about worthless for cost. Ratios are better for durable goods.
The cost of an avg. new car is about 6 mo. pretax gross wages for a skilled worker today , and was the same 50 years ago.
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" A person is smart, but People are dumb, dangerous, panicky animals, and you know it " Agent "K", Men in Black
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12-13-2008, 10:02 AM
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#8
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Jun 2006
Posts: 12,880
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We could easily build it for $600 M today, as long as we built it in China.
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Al
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12-13-2008, 01:01 PM
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#9
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Moderator Emeritus
Join Date: Dec 2002
Location: Oahu
Posts: 26,855
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Rustic23
I got to thinking, does anyone think you could build Hoover Dam for $600M today, My guess more like $6B. So why the difference? Inflation is accounted for in the $600M.
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I'm pretty sure that OSHA had a hand in that, and it's a good thing.
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12-13-2008, 01:16 PM
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#10
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Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: Lake Livingston, Tx
Posts: 4,203
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OSHA? What's that! Show said that the construction hard hat was invented by the Dam workers. They took tow baseball caps, one facing forward the other back, and dipped them in tar until they were 'stiff and very hard'. Also said the 59 people died during construction, but due to the depression there were plenty of people waiting for the jobs. Something like 40,000 applications for the 5,000 jobs.
Having lived in Vegas for three years, those had to be brutal working conditions! Vegas climate is extreme in both winter and summer.
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12-15-2008, 09:05 AM
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#11
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gone traveling
Join Date: May 2008
Posts: 3,864
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Quote:
Originally Posted by TromboneAl
We could easily build it for $600 M today, as long as we built it in China.
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And then shipped it to the desert like London Bridge?
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12-15-2008, 09:22 AM
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#12
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Jun 2006
Posts: 12,880
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Right. Just like EBay -- the shipping and handling charges kill you.
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Al
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