According to Nathan Thornburgh in the July 14, 2008 issue of TIME, the lack of progress at ground zero should worry Americans.  Rebuilding Ground Zero was to be a grand show of American defiance.  But seven years later this grand statement is no more than a stammer.  A recent progress report states that the landlord admitted that every part of the project is over budget and behind schedule. (Sounds like rebuilding Iraq with the no bid contractors, doesn't it?)  According to the report, it will take several months just to map out a new timeline. (again, hauntingly similar to the situation in Iraq) Thornburgh describes the mess thusly:

"The 16 acre site is a tangle of more than 100 contractors and subcontractors ... Lower Manhattan is in danger of becoming a metaphor for America's sluggish response to our most pressing economic challenges. . . While China is spending 9% of its GDP on Infrastructure, Amerians lose $9 billion a year in productivity from flight delays alone. . .  China has built the equivalent of several world Trade Center sites in its furious run-up to the olympics."