Texas natives Matthew McConaughey, Woody Harrelson, Dennis Quaid, Billy Bob Thornton, and Renée Zellweger (plus True Detective producer/director Nic Pizzolatto) are pushing for the Texas legislature to pony up incentives for Hollywood to shift movie production to Texas.
“You don’t like what Hollywood has been dishing? It’s time to take over the kitchen.”
(Aside: Since when did Billy Bob Thorton start looking like Kid Rock by way of Father Guido Sarducci?)
A few quick points:
Following the LA fires, it’s probably the perfect time to make this pitch. California’s insane tax and regulatory environment under one-party Democrat rule has already been pushing production out of Hollywood for a long time, but the fires have made collapse in basic governing competence when it comes to crime, homelessness, infrastructure, water, land management and about a dozen other basic government functions painfully clear to even the most blinkered Hollywood functionary.
When McConaughey declares that targeted business incentives are not corporate welfare, he’s engaged in the time-honored rhetorical device known as “lying.” It is corporate welfare, but it’s not exactly new, as the Texas Enterprise Fund already provide similar incentives for non-film business, and the Texas Moving Image Industry Incentive Program offers industry-specific incentives. It is corporate welfare, but most in the form of tax rebates, though there is a grant program rolled in there as well.
There appear to be two identical movies subsidies bills filed in the Texas House, one from Rep. Ben Bumgarner, the other from Giovanni Capriglione. Given Capriglione’s longtime support of the Straus/Bonnin/Phalen/Burrows axis, I’m inclined to oppose the bill on that basis alone, much less the subsidy angle.
Even without subsidies and tax breaks, from Hollywood‘s perspective, getting the hell out of California makes a lot of sense. High taxes, high crime, homeless camps everywhere, and dysfunctional Democratic politics means that even basic urban competence is off the table for the foreseeable future. Texas, by contrast, most look like a low-cost, low-tax paradise (albeit a really hot one) by comparison. Certainly Texas has no end of competition for movie and TV production, but a lot of the things that make it attractive to business relocation apply here as well.
There’s also a Texas residency requirement. “You can’t carpetbag.”
“I think this is it for Hollywood being the hub of movie production.”
Direct grants and subsidies are a bad idea, targeted tax credits slightly less so. But Texas, unlike California, has taken care of basic governance so much better that it can afford to throw around subsidies without impacting basic services or tax rates. But that doesn’t mean it should.
But having Hollywood move movie production to Texas will likely benefit the nation as a whole, simply by getting production out of that stifling far-left monoculture and injecting a dose of reality and diversity of thought, the precise kind of diversity that Democrats hate.
And if Hollywood does want to move to Texas, they’re going to have to leave all their DEI, social justice and transsexual madness behind in California. Not only do Texans not cotton to that sort of thing, but race and transsexual quotas are actually against Texas law.
“corporate welfare” is an investment, like buying stocks. You make more money than you would have without it.
Labeling it ‘welfare’ is the lie, because the definition of ‘welfare’ has changed to mean ‘handouts’.
This is different from electric buses in Austin, which had no payout mechanism for the tax money invested. Movies made by these sad f****s would make a lot of money for Texans.
NM has a robust movie industry with attractive tax breaks for the studios. Netflix has a dedicated studio here and there is a large independent studio as well. The jobs it brings are full of out of owners, but there is some local employment. I can’t tell you if it has a net gain but the politicians (NM is solid blue) will claim it is great.
I have a friend whose daughter is married to a guy in the movie business. They have a house here and in LA, but the Director of the latest project lost his house in the Palisades fire. He already bought a house in Santa Fe and has said he will not rebuild in CA, and will not go back to CA for any production work. Because of this, he is starting work on the series he is working on here in NM (Season 2 or 3) two months early.
You can take Hollyweird out of California, but you can’t take California out of Hollyweird. No thanks. They can move to Oregon, Pennsylvania, Illinois or some other leftist stronghold.
I’m already in support of Austin seceding from Texas.
Corporate welfare to attract the movie industry to Texas is a stupid idea. It was tried before in the 1990’s / aughts, and it just turns into a race to the bottom as firms try and play states off each other to see who will offer them the most money (and starstruck politicians often do). Texas wisely discontinued to play that suckers’ game long ago.
Louisiana is still dealing with the fiscal hangover from shelling out big bucks to attract moviemakers to film in the state in the 1990’s / aughts — cash that went out but never generated anything like the benefits that were promised.
The current movie industry is a dying culture anyway. If we are going to spend state moneys to attract industry to the state, there are FAR better candidates than the movies.
I feel like we are in a nuclear arms race. Each state is lowballing the others in subsidies. And I have to wonder why. It doesn’t create all that many jobs, although no carpetbagging is a start to correct that.
Perhaps they are doing it because then the pols get back donations from the producers. So it’s another money laundering tax scheme.
They’ll try to turn Texas in general in Austin writ large. No thanks. Hollywood is evil. Let it die.
…Georgia’s film industry has entered the chat.
“corporate welfare” is an investment, like buying stocks. You make more money than you would have without it.
Labeling it ‘welfare’ is the lie, because the definition of ‘welfare’ has changed to mean ‘handouts’.
This is different from electric buses in Austin, which had no payout mechanism for the tax money invested. Movies made by these sad f****s would make a lot of money for Texans.
NM has a robust movie industry with attractive tax breaks for the studios. Netflix has a dedicated studio here and there is a large independent studio as well. The jobs it brings are full of out of owners, but there is some local employment. I can’t tell you if it has a net gain but the politicians (NM is solid blue) will claim it is great.
I have a friend whose daughter is married to a guy in the movie business. They have a house here and in LA, but the Director of the latest project lost his house in the Palisades fire. He already bought a house in Santa Fe and has said he will not rebuild in CA, and will not go back to CA for any production work. Because of this, he is starting work on the series he is working on here in NM (Season 2 or 3) two months early.
No taxpayer money or incentives for any business. let a free market decide.
You can take Hollyweird out of California, but you can’t take California out of Hollyweird. No thanks. They can move to Oregon, Pennsylvania, Illinois or some other leftist stronghold.
I’m already in support of Austin seceding from Texas.
Corporate welfare to attract the movie industry to Texas is a stupid idea. It was tried before in the 1990’s / aughts, and it just turns into a race to the bottom as firms try and play states off each other to see who will offer them the most money (and starstruck politicians often do). Texas wisely discontinued to play that suckers’ game long ago.
Louisiana is still dealing with the fiscal hangover from shelling out big bucks to attract moviemakers to film in the state in the 1990’s / aughts — cash that went out but never generated anything like the benefits that were promised.
The current movie industry is a dying culture anyway. If we are going to spend state moneys to attract industry to the state, there are FAR better candidates than the movies.
[…] Hollywood’s Texadus. “Following the LA fires, it’s probably the perfect time to make this pitch. California’s […]
I feel like we are in a nuclear arms race. Each state is lowballing the others in subsidies. And I have to wonder why. It doesn’t create all that many jobs, although no carpetbagging is a start to correct that.
Perhaps they are doing it because then the pols get back donations from the producers. So it’s another money laundering tax scheme.
Texadus sounds like people leaving Texas
What they would be doing is more like Texigration
No! Please no more libtards in Austin! We have enough of them already and these folks are the types that will bring their voting habits with them
Jeez, don’t incentivize them to go to Texas! That will ruin the place. In fact, I recommend extra taxes on the film business in red states.
Ask North Carolina about tax incentives. Are they still making movies in Wilmington?
Please explain why Texans as a group should want masses of Hollywood liberals to move to Texas, vote, and support other liberals for office.