> People are increasingly getting into the field for the pay rather than for a love of programming,

> the quality of the software being produced is decreasing

I feel these two are related. I mean, one could say the same looking at companies like Boeing post McDonald Douglas merger.

> Likewise, I find it absurd that anyone running a startup outside of the US would ever incorporate in Delaware.

What if I told you it's sometimes easier for a foreinger to setup a corporation and sell in the US than it is to do so from their home country? A frenchman told me once that the US immigration system was easier to navigate than the regulations around a new business in his home country...

As for why Delaware instead of Dubai, I'm confident Delaware will still be a functioning democracy inside a strong economic union in a hundred year, with a stable, global currency and predictable laws and regulations. I'm not confident the UAE will qualify as "stable" in as little as 10 years. Other than oil, there's nothing of value there.