Yes, California may have the highest poverty rate in the country. Yes, its poor governance and hostile business environment may be forcing hundreds of thousands to relocate to more affordable states every year.
But at least California Democrats extended a tax break for Hollywood studios!
Gov. Gavin Newsom is running a victory lap after the Golden State extended the state’s film and television production tax credit program through 2030. The $330 million per year in tax incentives gave Newsom a new opportunity to lash out at red states, which are less popular for film and television productions. That includes Oklahoma and Georgia, which some Hollywood people are avoiding for their laws restricting abortion.
Today, Hollywood will wake up to this ad.
Time to choose.
You can protect your workers, or continue to support anti-abortion states that rule with hatred.
We’re here for you. We’re extending tax credits for those that come home to the Golden State.
Choose freedom.
Choose CA. pic.twitter.com/9Bcmc6zpdu— Gavin Newsom (@GavinNewsom) August 3, 2022
While Newsom panders to his base of celebrities and Hollywood executives, California is crumbling for its less-rich, less-famous residents. For years, California has had the highest poverty rate in the country. The state has roughly 161,000 homeless people, or 28% of the country’s homeless population, despite having just under 12% of the total population. The cost of living is crushing lower- and middle-class families, which are fleeing to more livable states such as Texas, Florida, Utah, and Idaho.
But this is the norm in California. While Newsom imposed burdensome COVID restrictions on the peasants (which, of course, he had no intention of observing personally), Hollywood productions got a different set of standards. While outdoor dining was banned, Hollywood and the entertainment industry got exemptions as “essential” businesses. In the same way, Newsom unofficially exempted himself so he could pal around with his lobbyist friends at an upscale French restaurant.
As he begins testing the waters for a 2024 presidential run, Newsom has only become less concerned with the burden his party puts on everyday Californians. He spends his time now trying to score political points against Georgia, Florida, and Texas, the states to which former Californians move. This is why he’s boasting about tax breaks for Hollywood millionaires while regular people drown in taxes and regulations, out of sight and out of mind.
California is run by liberal elitists for liberal elitists, and Newsom is bragging about it. Everyday Californians may be worried about how to get by month to month, but at least major film studios can get a tax break while making sure staff can abort the babies their directors conceive through sexual coercion.
