Scott Rasmussen's Number of the Day for January 9, 2018
The Number of the Day columns published on Ballotpedia reflect the views of the author.
January 9, 2018: The latest subway line addition in New York is estimated to cost $3.5 billion per mile. According to the New York Times, that’s seven times as much as the worldwide average and the most expensive subway project ever. Other recent New York projects have also been more expensive than the worldwide average, costing $1.5 billion to $2.5 billion.[1]
According to the Times, “public officials have stood by as a small group of politically connected labor unions, construction companies, and consulting firms have amassed large profits.” Some of the union contracts require four times as many employees as the rest of the world. Consulting firms have hired employees from the Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA) and built in “an unusual amount of design and management” costs.
The Times says that “public officials, mired in bureaucracy, have not acted to control the costs.” The MTA “almost never punishes vendors for spending too much or taking too long.”
Those who dig the tunnels receive $111 per hour in salary and benefits. They receive double that amount for frequent weekend work and over $400 per hour for weekend overtime.
Each weekday, Scott Rasmussen’s Number of the Day explores interesting and newsworthy topics at the intersection of culture, politics, and technology.
- January 8, 2018 – 5 obstacles to Trump’s infrastructure policy ambitions
- January 5, 2018 – 2.7 million cord-cutters dropped cable in first nine months of 2017
- January 4, 2018 – 83 percent of Americans say they understand the risk of police work
- January 3, 2018 – 7 percent of Americans think it’s very likely their job will be replaced by automation
- January 2, 2018 – 62 percent of media coverage about Donald Trump was negative
- To see other recent numbers, check out the archive.
Scott Rasmussen’s Number of the Day is published by Ballotpedia weekdays at 8:00 a.m. Eastern. Click here to check out the latest update.
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Columns published on Ballotpedia reflect the views of the author.
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