Why Is the Government Rebuilding the World Trade Center?

New York Mayor Mike Bloomberg and Sheldon Silver, the speaker of the New York State Assembly, argue in today’s New York Times that the World Trade Center “redevelopment process was always intended to be a public-private collaboration.” They urge the Port Authority, the public agency that owns the site, to further assist with the project’s finances. Another government agency, the joint city-state Lower Manhattan Development Corporation, is also involved in the redevelopment.

Aside from mere symbolism, however, why should taxpayer money be spent to plan and construct a private office building that fairly clearly nobody wants to build? After all, if there were really demand for a 100-story skyscraper, then private financing would be forthcoming.