Posted on 10/28/2014 5:59:09 AM PDT by MichCapCon
Five years and $500 million later, Michigan has fewer film jobs than it did when the state started its subsidy program.
According to the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics, Michigan had 1,561 film jobs in 2013 (the latest year information is available). In 2008, the state had 1,663 film jobs. See chart nearby.
Michigan currently spends $50 million per year subsidizing film productions. Previously, the program was uncapped in 2010-11, the state spent $115 million. Overall, as of this year, taxpayers have devoted $494.7 million to the program.
Because film productions are so mobile, among other reasons, the economic analysis of incentive programs is overwhelmingly negative from researchers on the left and the right.
Is the point of the program to have Michiganders hired into movie jobs, or is it to bring all the money spent by a Hollywood production being spent in Michigan. I suspect it id the latter, and, if so, this analysis is half-baked...
This is the lamest of lame scams, but yokels fall for it out of “star envy” and the notion that the jobs can be trumpeted in local media as something good the pol can do for the local economy. It plays directly into re-election fever on the part of local two-bit politicians. Whatever jobs that are created are good paying but very short-lived. The film cos take the tax break and soon move on to the next sucker.
But let's face it...Michigan is mostly a pretty boring place. It's really just Ohio with a coastline.
Trying to make Michigan the Hollywood of the Midwest...who's bright idea was that?
Reminds me of when Flint decided to become a “tourist stop” along I-75 by creating an automotive theme park, built aroung a 3 story high V-8 engine. Didn't work out so well.
:: Michigan is mostly a pretty boring place. It’s really just Ohio with a coastline. ::
Born and raised in “mitten-gan” and I disagree. One is never more than 30 minues from a great experience.
Morel hunting in old growth forests
Pan-fishing in any glacial pothole lake (Small mouth bass in Lake Skegemog!!)
Romping around ancient dunes
Big water fishing (salmon) in ^every^ G.Lake (hell, you can even eat the lampreys if you are daring!)
Hunting, from varmint to large game
My favorite? Walking through the neighborhood after a snowfall and listening to the -silence- it has brought; even in a semi-urban area.
BTW, did you know that Ohio has no natural lakes; all were the result of human intervention?
! Blue-yah !
from Lakewood, Ohio, then from southern Michigan as well.
love the lakes there, and the countryside. it doesn’t have the majesty of the mountains, that I currently live in, but the land has it’s charms.
I have always avoided the the city of Detroit, however, since the 70s, except for an occassional concert, which were affordable at Cobo Hall... at least back then.
movie making is now mobile... I haven’t thouroughly investigated the issue back there.. they have lousy weather for 7 months a year, so I wonder if that has to have something to do with slowdown in movie work being filmed there.
Part of the reason for these “incentives” is the fact that dozens of other states are also using them to attract filmmakers.
I don’t like it but its how the states compete.
Its kinda like NASCAR. If a team comes up with a spoiler modification that gives them a .01 second edge and it passes NASCAR specs, next week every car on the track has the new spoiler.
If it were me, I would cut taxes for all businesses across the board and call it good.
Growing up walking through the neighbors corn, stalking deer with my 0.410 pistol (it was legal back then) while carrying my 12-guage long-barrel to knock down the geese. Then, mid-morning, hitting the lake to catch a limit of blue-gills for dinner.
What greater “outdoor” opportunity exists?
(Thanks for the video-link, Cripp. I sent it to the family.)
yep... not a hunter myself, but I have nothing against it.. deer starve in the winter so the heard needs to be a reasonable levels... hunting is good conservation.
love to small lake fish Michigan, (not so much the Great Lakes). I’ve done many many years of that... Bass are the most fun to catch, IMO, due to the jumping out of the water thing they do to throw off the hook...
Blue Gill , Perch and panfish however are a far better eating fish... and panfish won’t jump, but their strength surprises you... did not catch too many Perch in Michigan in the past 20 years.. maybe that is more of an Ohio lake fish... but Perch taste great and so do Blue Gill !
and speaking of corn fields.. one of my fondest memories is just driving in upper Michigan past fields and fields of corn.. I love farms, and spending the 1st 15 years of my life in Ohio, we saw a lot of them. My sister has a hunting reserve up near the town of Hillman.. and it’s just wonderful to drive and hike up there.
but the corn fields in upper Michigan, are amongst rolling fields, and not as flat as Ohio... so it’s just an amazingly beautiful site... at least to these old eyes.
Another Canada Jen success story!
I’m sure the Hollywood Democrats who benefitted from this program are quite grateful.
“Michigan is mostly a pretty boring place. It’s really just Ohio with a coastline”
...and Detroit is Washington D.C. without the monuments.
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