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Soon after 7 World Trade opened, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg criticized him for not leasing it more quickly, claiming that the developer was asking prices that were too high. Government officials publicly pressured him to complete a deal with a Chinese developer who was to be the tower's first tenant, and then excoriated him when he cancelled the deal after the prospective tenant failed to provide adequate details on its financing.

Apparently the mayor and other government officials feel it is their job to criticize, pressure, and excoriate a private citizen according to how he manages his own property. Where did they get that idea?

But since then Mr. Silverstein has managed to lease 1.1 million square feet of 7 World Trade to blue-chip tenants like Moody's, at rents that are 50% higher than what officials were urging him to accept. "I simply did not listen to all the naysayers because I was spending my money, not theirs, and fortunately I had no government involvement in 7 World Trade, which gave me the opportunity to do what I do best," he says.

That is exactly as things should be. The developer should be spending his own money, not the government's (read taxpayers'), and he should be making the decisions. We would all be better off if the government did not meddle in such matters.