The beautiful Empire State Building took one year and 45 days to build. It was completed in the depth of the Great Depression and is still considered one of the great architectural marvels of all times. But it’s been nearly five years since the twin towers, along with 2,752 human beings, disintegrated into dust, and ground zero is still just a hole in the ground. If the government had been involved back in 1930 when the site for the Empire State Building was being excavated, King Kong would have had to find another building tall enough to hoist Fay Wray on top of while battling toy airplanes. Fortunately, capitalism ruled the day, and private companies – General Motors and Chrysler – were competing to build the highest skyscraper first.

The heavily bureaucratic Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, unfortunately, owns the World Trade Center, and though the site is leased to Larry Silverstein, he doesn’t appear to have any say in any project to replace the twin towers. Nor do we, the public. I’m willing to bet that most New Yorkers want the towers rebuilt and wish the Freedom Tower project would get scrapped. That’s unlikely to happen because New York City has rejected capitalism. This is a liberal town, and when you scratch a liberal you may find a latent anti-capitalist Marxist.

But New York City became the giant that it is because of private investments and rugged entrepreneurs who could operate without much government interference. Ground zero’s stagnation is reminiscent of the Wollman skating rink renovation in Central Park, which dragged on for seven years until Donald Trump took over the project in 1986 and completed it in three months, at a fraction of what the city had spent.

The anti-capitalist bent of liberal politicians and union officials is also why Wal-Mart is being kept from operating here. This week I visited the new Home Depot on the south shore of Staten Island. It is huge and on the same grounds as the new Target store, which is scheduled to open on the Ides of March. Work on these buildings was completed almost overnight. Most of the surrounding area is vacant and will accommodate a Wal-Mart, the NASCAR racetracks, or both. I say bring them all on.

Like Wal-Mart, Target is non-union. Yet it has not been, pardon the pun, targeted by the unions. Why not? What’s the difference? Is it because Target offers higher-priced merchandise and is not patronized by low-income customers? The billboards attacking Wal-Mart here on Staten Island warn of higher crime if Wal-Mart locates here. Sounds elitist to me.

So why are non-union businesses anathema to liberal politicians? Could it be that unions traditionally use employee dues to support political campaigns? Union members might be interested in researching how legitimately their union operates. A new Web site, www.unionfacts.com, exposes the harsh truths of labor union history and is worth visiting.

While politicians claim they are concerned for the poor, halting the prospect of new jobs in the area is the worst thing possible for people looking for work. I’ve been in enough low-end jobs to know that none of them offers the health benefits or the wages being demanded of Wal-Mart.

After 15 years as a stay-at-home mom, I ventured back into the workplace, which held few opportunities for someone my age. I took minimum-wage jobs that did not offer any benefits. But if there had been a local Wal-Mart, I would have been hired. That’s what this huge retailer offers – jobs for the young and old and inexperienced who are excluded from most white-collar jobs.When critics charge that Wal-Mart will cause the loss of many businesses and jobs, they are obfuscating the facts. In a thriving economy, mom-and-pop shops can offer convenience and better customer service. The ones that will fold are the ones that offer neither. Competition helps us all. It built the Empire State Building in record time.

I think it’s time for workers to wake up and smell the coffee. If you’re working at a job in an aging industry – like buggy whips – that will soon disappear, it’s time to get training or seek work elsewhere. This is America, land of opportunity, not a cradle-to-grave communist welfare state – although New York is headed in that direction.

I am sick and tired of looking at that hole in the ground where my friend Donald Foreman, a Port Authority police officer, lost his life. I don’t need a memorial to his death on September 11, 2001, a day when anti-capitalist Islamic jihadists struck. Each day without the twin towers is proof that they won.