Published at The National Desk
WASHINGTON (TND) — Hundreds of millions in Hollywood handouts facing scrutiny as critics question the economic and ethical value of California's $330 million Film and Television Tax Credit Program.
OpenTheBooks CEO Adam Andrzejewski joined The National Desk’s Jan Jeffcoat to discuss the issue.
“So this is the governor's signature centerpiece program of his administration when it comes to tax credits. He knows 100% of who is receiving and how much for what project in the state of California, full stop. The critics say that this is Hollywood handouts to major studios who don't need taxpayer help,” he said. “But Governor Gavin Newsom, he'll say that this is good for local jobs and economic growth in California.”
The Poynter Institute reported some academic analyses for similar programs in other states like New York show that most government tax credits and film have not produced any significant economic growth. OpenTheBooks reported two programs that critics say was particularly harmful to teens that got nearly $100 million in tax incentives.
"Governor Gavin Newsom locked down K-12 public schools. He forced remote learning from home. There were two TV series that were streaming on cable that caused real harms within America's families.
"13 Reasons Why deals with 13 reasons why you should commit suicide. The National Institutes of Health studied that film and teenagers with mental health problems and they said 100%, you should not watch that film if you are feeling depressed and during the pandemic, one out of every three teenagers was feeling depressed," Andrzejewski said.
“The National Institutes of Health said that that film led to a spike in teenage suicide. It was funded in part with $46 million of California tax credits. Then you have Euphoria and it is basically as critics say, 'soft pornography for teenagers.' It glorifies very explicitly teenage sex, drug use and violence. That was funded with $48 million where the California tax credits were under Gavin Newsom's administration.”