re: #3 funky chicken

Economics is something where specifics matter. So the crash had nothing to do with Ireland’s tax rate. The idea behind low corporate taxes is that businesses will decide to relocate and grow in Ireland. It’s possible that businesses were planning on doing that, until the crash. But it’s also possible that the low rates were not enough of an incentive to go to Ireland. I believe artists don’t pay any taxes in Ireland—which doesn’t lead to better art, but rather, more consumption of liquor and cigarettes.