Give Gov. Andrew Cuomo credit for vetoing a bill that would have made the state’s perverse handouts for film companies even more twisted. Too bad, though, he didn’t move to scrap the program altogether.
The bill would have set aside $5 million a year in taxpayer money as a “diversity tax credit” — to be used for minority and women writers and directors who make films or TV shows in New York.
The money would’ve come from a $420 million annual pot Albany draws on to “reward” companies for shooting here. Taxpayers would’ve been on the hook for up to $50,000 of a female or minority writer or director’s salary.
Hmm: Just when you thought New York’s “economic development” programs couldn’t get worse . . .
As Cuomo noted, the bill didn’t even cite any “statistically significant evidence of race-based [and gender-based] discrimination against screenwriters and directors.” He insists it would’ve been found unconstitutional; he’s probably right.
Worse, it wouldn’t have targeted lower-income craftsmen who work on-set and in post-production, as the broader, $420 million program does, but rather higher-level writers and directors who happen to be minority members or women.
Such as, say, Tina Fey, who — that’s right! — was a fierce supporter of the bill.
The superstar writer-actress-producer (and feminist) would bristle at suggestions that, in backing the bill, she was just looking for a handout. But NBC didn’t need a bribe to hire her for “Saturday Night Live” and “30 Rock”; she earned her success based on her talent and hard work.
Future Tina Feys are sure to be treated similarly.
Such a bill is typical for the Assembly, which loves to channel taxpayer cash to its favorite causes. But how did this bill get through the Republican-controlled Senate, where it passed 38-24?
Of course, Cuomo’s $420 million-a-year film credit fund — used to “incentivize” his Hollywood pals to make films and TV shows in the state — is the biggest outrage.
His folks say it spurs jobs and is needed to compete with other states. But the Citizens Budget Commission cites state data showing New York gets back less than the program’s cost. And many productions would take place here without subsidies.
Cuomo has enough egg on his face after spending $15 million to build a seldom-used state-run film hub outside Syracuse. So it was smart for him not to rub any more on by letting the “diversity” film bill become law.
But New Yorkers are still out $420 million a year. Shame on him for that.