I was thinking about wear and tear on the body with hand tools. Sure mortisers can be heavy to lug, but they don't have the repetitive motion of boring machines and hand saws.
There absolutely is a place for both hand and power tools in my opinion. As with most issues I think that finding the right balance is critical. I think it is possible to find distortion on either extreme end of the spectrum. For example, I saw someone on a forum making the assertion that pitsawing is a reasonable way to convert logs into boards as opposed to a chain saw of bandsaw mill. In my mind, this is as off base as taking the human element out of timber framing with a CNC machine.
To be clear, I'm glad that there are guys like Timbeal and Dave out there who are able to justify nearly exclusive hand tool use.
As far as overall cost, I have a pretty well equipped shop, with both power and hand tools, but I did not pay full price for most of it. I've always kept a lookout for deals and bought it when I had the cash on hand. I probably have $200,000 invested in tools and equipement but I'm not making payments on any of it. Of course, I didn't buy a brand new $35,000 Toyota fork lift, I have a 59 International with a fork mast that I picked up for $2,400. If I had taken out a huge loan to start my business I would already be bankrupt! And if not bankrupt, in perpetual servitude to the ratrace!