Slashdot Mirror
Apple Scraps $1 Billion Irish Data Center Over Planning Delays (reuters.com)
Apple ditched plans to build an 850 million euro ($1 billion) data center in Ireland because of delays in the approval process that have stalled the project for more than three years, the iPhone maker said on Thursday. From a report: Apple announced plans in February 2015 to build the facility in the rural western town of Athenry to take advantage of green energy sources nearby, but a series of planning appeals, chiefly from two individuals, delayed its approval. Ireland's High Court ruled in October that the data center could proceed, dismissing the appellants who then took their case to the country's Supreme Court.
https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/apple/apple-agrees-pay-15-4-billion-back-taxes-ireland-even-n826701
I don't think you know what a data center is. It doesn't create many jobs. The construction is just companies bringing in crews and when it is done they leave. The only effect on the locals is that they now have a big ugly data center and their utility rates probably go up. My guess the "green energy" source that Apple was going to use was hydro, which isn't "green" at all.
American style socialism favors the freedoms and rights of fictional corporate entities. European socialism favors the rights of individuals or the public good. In the U.S. foreign companies are leveraging Kelo V New London to stomp over individual rights, including declaring nearly new home as condemned, grabbing 40% of a city's water capacity and violating the Great Lakes pact.
Ireland chose not to become a corporate whore this time but has tried American style corporate socialism in the past. Have you heard of the potato famine? Chances are you heard wrong. Irish farms exported other economically productive at the same time as the farmers starved. In the more recent past Ireland did bend over to Apple, Dell and other IT companies only to have them downsize or close down once their tax incentives expired. The Irish government also used tax money to buy distressed property after the first celtic tiger property bubble burst and then they sold it to REIT vulture funds such as the one managed by Dan Quayle. Quayle makes money while Irish homelessness is skyrocketing. Deja vu to the foreign slumlords who inspired the Irish land wars a century and a half ago. This may have been a poor decision but much poorer decisions are being made every day in pursuit of short-term corporate profits.