You know things are bad with our bailed-out economy when the proposed new financial center of the world no longer feels “free”:

The Port Authority is taking the “Freedom” out of the Freedom Tower.

Although the 1,776-foot tower hasn’t been fully built, funded or leased — and won’t be occupied until 2014 — the agency decreed Thursday it will no longer be called the Freedom Tower. It will simply be known as 1 World Trade Center.

“As we market the building, we will ensure that it is presented in the best possible way — and 1 World Trade Center is the address that we’re using,” said PA Chairman Anthony Coscia.

“It’s the one that is easiest for people to identify with — and frankly, we’ve gotten a very interested and warm reception to it.”

The name change for the 102-story, $3.1 billion skyscraper, unveiled after a PA board meeting, drew a sharp rebuke from former Gov. George Pataki, whose April 24, 2003, speech gave the building its brand.

“The Freedom Tower is not simply another piece of real estate and not just a name for marketing purposes,” Pataki said.

“In design and name, it is symbolic of our commitment to rise above the attacks of Sept. 11. Where 1 and 2 World Trade Center once stood, there will be a memorial with two voids to honor the heroes we lost — and, in my view, those addresses should never be used again.”