Recently, Michigan's governor and some legislators were
falling all over themselves to pass extensive refundable tax breaks, government loans and even outright subsidies
to the film industry. This movie package is being touted as an economic development initiative, but it is
unlikely to have any significant effect on the state's failing economy.
Think about
it. There has never been any significant film industry in Michigan. That means we have no studio facilities, no trained work
force, and nothing more than a beautiful environment and buckets of tax payer dollars (where did this money come from?)
to entice industry executives to bring their production work here. Trained personnel to work on film industry projects
would need to be imported from film companies' core resource pools in California, New York or Toronto. Also,
all post-production work, which represents some good-paying industry jobs, would likely be taken back
to the film industry centers, along with those buckets of tax payer dollars, where the equipment and
personnel are readily available to perform this important phase of movie production. There will not be a mass exodus of film
production companies eager to set up shop in Michigan. It's fun to think that that would be the case, but it's just
not going to happen.
Now granted, some imported personnel will need temporary
facilities, and goods and services to support their efforts, but will we really make an economic impact on this state's
dismal economic climate beyond a few temporary boosts to hotels, caterers and rental companies? Will an
army of “extras” have any measurable positive impact on the tax base here in Michigan? Are
these really the kind of jobs that will help solve Michigan’s economic woes? Any filming that takes place will happen
over the course of a few weeks, then the filmmakers will pack up and be gone with the wind.
Speaking of
wind, this all has the smell of the same old flatulence that has been floating out of Lansing like so much swamp gas. When
will the defenders of the status quo realize that, we, the Michigan voters, see beyond the smoke and mirrors of feel-good
legislation?
Jack McHugh and James Hohman of the Mackinac Center for Public Policy put it
best:
"Like all such targeted subsidy and tax break programs, the main purpose of the
film handouts will be to give the appearance of "doing something" while legislators avoid the heavy lifting of passing
the broad-based tax, regulatory and labor law reform that would genuinely fix our broken economy. If they were less star-struck,
legislators would finally begin the transformational restructuring and downsizing of government needed to make possible lower
taxes for all job providers — not just those who hire movie stars."
