Film Incentive Corruption Abuse Spreads Again, This Time To Michigan
It just seems to keep happening. Yet another report of film incentive abuse, this time in state film incentive leader Michigan. This story sounds similar to the corruption problems in Louisiana and also involves the construction of a new film studio. Below is a video report put out by the Mackinac Center for Public Policy, which has been a critic of the state’s film incentives for some time. It’s well worth watching. On June 17th, the group called for an investigation of the proposed studio:
Mackinac Center Legal Foundation Director Patrick Wright today called for an official inquiry by the Michigan Legislature, Michigan Attorney General and the U.S. Attorney’s Office into the Hangar42 state film subsidy deal in wake of troubling revelations and state silence surrounding the project.
Concerns about the purchase price of the studio, the nature of the arrangement between the seller and buyers and the level of the potential state subsidy were compounded yesterday when The Grand Rapids Press reported on a state representative’s aide bragging publicly about his ability to profit from state subsidies on an unnamed film incentive deal.
“While there is no clear indication that a crime has been committed, there are enough questions surrounding this deal that the Legislature, the Michigan Attorney General and the U.S. Attorney’s Office should carefully scrutinize it and take appropriate action,” said Wright.
The Mackinac Center was the first to publicly raise questions about the Hangar 42 deal with an essay and investigative video posted on its website May 20. Fiscal Policy Director Michael LaFaive and Communications Specialist Kathy Hoekstra reported that the building converted into a studio was on the market for $9.8 million as late as February, but apparently sold for as much as $40 million shortly thereafter. The result was a significantly larger potential state subsidy.
I urge to please not give those morons at the The Mackinac Center any credibility…. they do little if no research on any subject matter that might jeopardize their right slanted viewpoints
Hi Dave,
Thanks for reading and visiting the site. Clearly, you work in the industry in Michigan…Detriot by the look of it. Outside of the work they do on the film incentives in Michigan, I am not familiar with Mackinac’s other work or their politics. I have found, however, that their reporting on the Michigan film incentive has been very well researched and reported. Take this story for example, Mackinac merely helped uncover the alleged fraud. And if Michigan residents were getting defrauded out of millions because of film incentive abuse on the studio, it seems like Mackinac did the right thing. Am I wrong? As for their other coverage of the state film incentives, I think its important to bear in mind that they are not inventing information on the cost and efficacy of the incentive. Rather, they often point to the economic impact reports prepared by the state itself and state institutions.
I understand your hostility, as I assume you benefit greatly from Michigan’s incentive program and do not want it to come to an end. I get that, I really do. And while I have no doubt the incentive really helps you and the industry there out and you understandably love it, it doesn’t mean the incentive is bad for the state as a whole. As more and more time has passed and these incentives been studied over and over from experts left and right, the overwhelming consensus is that film incentives, as they exist now (too large) are very bad public policies that cost the state much more than they recoup from new production spending. How much does it cost? In Massachusetts, for example, the cost of each new film job created to the taxpayer is $89,000. Assuming a similar number in Michigan, it seems like the state could pay for two to three teachers, fire fighters or police than they do for just one film job. The question is, are we ok with laying off teachers while at the same time paying for film incentives?
That said, since you questioned the credibility and research abilities of Mackinac, can you point to some specifics for support? If you can help me understand why they lack credibility, then I will discount them as a reliable source…but I need some evidence.
I hope to hear back from you. Outside of the Mackinac issue, I would love to get some of your insight on being a filmmaker in Michigan. It sounds like things have really been exciting there.
Take care,
Adrian