[JayPro]

Again, it all goes back to the same premise:
We don't *need * a world's tallest. It just so turns out that historically in this country, every single skyscraper graced with the title "World's Tallest" was so because practical circumstances dictated it. ESB was not built to its scale to appease a faux-patriotic "wel'll get over this doggone worldwide Depression" mantra.
Within the past decade at the very least, more or less every Asian putative World's Tallest entry was built to essentially pound chest and enter the proverbial pissing contest.
I won't get to far afield save to say this: If anyone can tell me the highrise vacancy rate for cities like Shanghai and Dubai, I'd *really* like to know--provided my suspicions are on target---why the previously cited SWFC and Burj Khalifa even exist otherwise.

This bubba exists to serve as mothership to a huge company and serve however many of NYC's 8 million+ people seek their patronage. Name any city undergoing a construction boom in this country, Canada.....and even European metros like Moscow, Paris, London, Frankfurt, Madrid, Vienna, Rotterdam etc. You'll see that it's all demand based, be it office, business, residential, government, or what have you.
I now return you to your regularly scheduled on-topic roundtable.