Doug French at the Mises Institute explains why the Hoover Dam may be the "biggest malinvestment in history".
A few highlights from the article:
- Over 100 workers died on the job
- The construction costs in today's dollars were over $700 million
- 16,000 people worked on the dam
Today, the southwest U.S. including southern California has little to show for these investments save for a water-shortage, an unsustainable farming economy and a huge tax bill to bailout the dream of a few long-dead politicians.
Just imagine what all of those resources expended in the free market during the 1930's could have provided people in need of food, shelter, clothing, electricity and transportation.
