Khalifa Tower: The Tower of Babel?

1	"And the whole earth was of one language, and of one speech.
2	And it came to pass, as they journeyed from the east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar; and they dwelt there.
3	And they said one to another, Go to, let us make brick, and burn them thoroughly. And they had brick for stone, and slime had they for mortar.
4	And they said, Go to, let us build us a city, and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven; and let us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth.
5	And the LORD came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of men builded.
6	And the LORD said, Behold, the people is one, and they have all one language; and this they begin to do: and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do.
7	Go to, let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another's speech.
8	So the LORD scattered them abroad from thence upon the face of all the earth: and they left off to build the city.
9	Therefore is the name of it called Babel; because the LORD did there confound the language of all the earth: and from thence did the LORD scatter them abroad upon the face of all the earth. -Genesis 11:1-9

Immediately following the dawn of the new year, the Khalifa Tower (the tallest man-made structure ever built) officially opened in Dubai, United Arab Emirates in the main business district. The tower itself cost US$1.5 billion dollars to make and recreating downtown Dubai cost an extra US$20 billion. In 2007, Dubai was considered the economic capital of the world. Recently in 2010 however, the completion of the tower coincided with a global economic slump and overbuilding, calling for a bank bailout in order to maintain stability in global economic recovery. (CNN Money)

The attention surrounding Dubai and the Khalifa Tower made me think of the tower of Babel. Is money the universal language of the world? The world shows more response to possible economic collapse then it does to extreme poverty on the immediate basis for fear that we, ourselves, will also become impoverished. Even with the recent event in Haiti, it became apparent that the most recognized response to tragedy always generates money. Are we obsessed with climbing new heights? Does money really talk?