L.A. Mayor Declares State of ‘Emergency’ As Movie, TV Production Flees Hollywood

It is unusual to see Liberal Progressive Democrats bemoaning high tax and high union pay climates having the effect of chasing away business. Or is it? Liberal Progressives seem to advocate for higher taxes and higher union pay scales as long as others pay them. The newly elected Mayor of Los Angeles, Eric Garcetti is actually declaring a “State of Emergency” because so many movies and television shows are being produced outside of Los Angeles. The movie and TV industries are of course “pet” industries in Southern California. The TV and movie industries are also dominated by Liberal/Progressive decision makers to the point that actors or workers in these industries that let conservative viewpoints slip out are often ostracized, excommunicated or blackballed to the point that they can no longer work in Hollywood unless they have first built enough fame to remain.

How is it then that Liberal/Progressive decision makers in the television and movie industries are overwhelmingly choosing to create their products in Louisiana, Georgia, North Carolina, Canada, Eastern Europe and other locations far away from Southern California? Could it be that the high taxes, lack of tax credits and highly regulated union pay scales and working contracts have made Los Angeles unattractive as a movie or TV location?

From Variety:

 Los Angeles’ new mayor has vowed to help stanch the flow of film and TV production jobs out of Hollywood, starting with the appointment of a film czar at City Hall. But to make a real difference, Eric Garcetti needs to convince skeptical state pols to combat the lure of rich tax incentives from outside California.

Hollywood’s homegrown industry is being ceded to other states and countries whose favorable tax credits are increasingly luring away movie and television production at an alarming rate. As competition both in the U.S. and abroad continues to grow, the state’s market share and longtime stronghold on production jobs and spending are fast evaporating.

These days studio chiefs insist that filmmakers they work with take advantage of out-of-state incentives to lower production costs, which on a single major motion picture can amount to savings of tens of millions. Those savings are crucial in a franchise-obsessed era when big-budget movies commonly cost north of $200 million to produce, while on the revenue side the DVD market has largely collapsed and cinema attendance has been generally flat over the past decade. In the current climate, most independent projects would not even be produced without incentives.

Aren’t studio chiefs all outspoken Liberal/Progressives and vocal backers of Obama, more regulations and higher taxes? I can’t think of any studio chiefs who have voiced any free market ideals. List in the comments with quotes from a studio head who has if you can find one, because that studio head is a rarity.

No matter what people may say, the most important votes are the votes people make everyday with their dollars and their feet. If higher taxes and higher union wages are the goal, Los Angeles should be the best place in the world to make movies and television shows according to Liberal/Progressives. As usual, reality has a way of breaking into collectivist fantasy. Even in Hollywood.

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