NY Times Notices Ireland

Did you know that Ireland is the richest country in Europe? You did?
No doubt you read widely, and don’t rely on The New York Times for
your news.

But if you are a Times reader, you are no doubt all
charged up as you learned for the first time from
Thomas Friedman in an opinion piece that

the country that for hundreds of years was best
known for emigration, tragic poets, famines, civil wars and
leprechauns today has a per capita G.D.P. higher
than that of Germany, France and Britain.

How did Ireland do it? Well, here of course, Friedman tells only part
of the story. This is The New York Times after all. The Irish implemented

a program of fiscal austerity, slashing corporate taxes
to 12.5 percent, far below the rest of Europe, moderating wages and
prices, and aggressively courting foreign
investment. In 1996, Ireland made college education basically free...

But if you want the rest of the story, you’ll need to turn to
Rep. Bill Thomas (R-CA)
the evil Republican chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee.
“Happy Saint Patrick’s Day,” he chortled, as he published the following facts on
the Irish economic miracle:

IRELAND TAX FACTS 1985 2002 % change Top corporate tax rate 50% 12.5% -75% Top marginal income tax rate 60% 42% -30% Top capital gains tax 60% 20% -67%

Marginal tax rates, Tom. Marginal tax rates. It’s the secret
Republican weapon. Just thought you’d like to know.