Frank Underwood Schemes Behind The Scenes For Hollywood Subsidies: With deep-blue Maryland poised to swear in a fiscal conservative Republican governor, will Larry Hogan do something about handouts to Hollywood? According to the Washington Post, in recent years, Maryland has bestowed $37.6 million in tax credits on House of Cards and $22.7 million on Veep. That means average people must be taxed more -- Maryland raised personal income taxes twice in the period -- so the Hollywood elite can be even richer. A running theme of House of Cards is that sinister politicians rob the public. The show itself robs the public. How very current! Courtesy of Netflix Weve got to stop them from appointing a special prosecutor for Maryland public subsidies to Netflix. Reader Jerry Skurnik of New York City notes, The Maryland film commissions claim that House of Cards generated $250 million in benefits is as ludicrous as most plots of the series. A state legislature study cited in the above link supports the conclusion that the subsidies exceed any economic activity created. Benjamin Freed notes Maryland cut support of the fine arts in order to funnel subsidies to House of Cards. Rather than fund local nonprofits producing music and theater -- a public-purpose case can be made for that -- Maryland subsidizes big-commercial efforts by Netflix, which ought to pay its own way. And its not going out on a limb to suppose that Kevin Spacey or other Hollywood grandees involved in the show have said, Why dont politicians do more to support the arts?
Posted on: Thu, 20 Nov 2014 12:36:20 +0000
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