Readers respond to Question of the Week: Should Hollywood get a bigger new tax credit?

Newsom’s right on this one

There isn’t a question as to whether it should happen or not. Having been in the studios for over 30 years and having seen the decline before the last bit of help, it’s embarrassing to think California would have Hollywood leave with the rest of our industries because governance couldn’t see the writing on the wall.

We dropped 20% employment the last year in the industry and that’s because it’s cheaper elsewhere, and other states and countries do give credits to the industry to get the studios’ value into the economy of the area or state wanting the economic help.

This shouldn’t be a question of anything but how much. Seriously.

— Vance Frederick, Long Beach

No, Hollywood should not get a bigger tax credit

I understand the logic behind supporting a key California industry and folks both in it and those who provide secondary services to it — but throwing additional state funds at it, which is effectively what a tax credit does, is not a good use of limited funding when there are so many other more critical but underfunded demands at this time. Those include infrastructure to address the homeless problem, building a network of dedicated temporary accommodation for those needy who are down on their luck and needed institutional psychiatric hospital facilities for the many mentally ill on the streets who need long-term treatment and care, Let’s also not forget the costly structural needs that will flow from likely passage of Prop. 36 and a tougher approach to street and retail crime. If other jurisdictions want to throw money at Hollywood, fine, their own taxpayers can foot the bill.

— P.A. Brown, Pasadena

Film industry tax credit

People don’t realize how important the entertainment industry is to our local economy. The majority of people working in the film industry are not rich by any means. Losing productions to other states has harmed us very much. Thousands have good jobs because of local productions. Not to mention other non-entertainment businesses that benefit from local productions. Other states have lured them away with generous tax credits. California needs to do the same.

— Virginia Arnold, North Hollywood