There is nothing more abhorrent to government than something which is not subject to its iron-fisted control. In an effort to suppress movie content that the state doesn’t approve of, Florida is considering a bill that would provide special tax benefits to movie companies that comply with that state’s definition of family-friendly content for movies made in Florida.
The new bill would increase all the incentives, creating a minimum tax credit of 20 percent for eligible productions with a budget of $625,000 or more. The family friendly bonus would go up to 5 percent, but the program would still be optional.
Is should come as no surprise to anyone that taking government handouts is going to involve political strings. Government is about politics and bills like this are about attracting votes under the catch-all argument of “protecting the children.” An incentive for government approved content is a penalty for non-approved content, pure and simple. While it might be legal, government should not be in the business of dictating culture. People vote with their pocket book when they go see a movie. They don’t need the state putting its thumb on the balance to distort the market.
It’s bad enough when politicians and censorship advocacy groups campaign to purify what people watch, but it’s even more disturbing when journalists jump on the bandwagon. Of all professions one would expect them to be sensitive to the imposition of government pressure in the marketplace of ideas. Of course, if in addition to being a journalist, you’re also a child psychologist, it’s probably second nature to sacrifice adult autonomy in favor of legislation that sanitizes our culture for the benefit of the kiddies.
At least Florida is being up front about it. It’s saying, we want your business, even if we have to hold our legislative noses at the movies you make. And we’ll give you an incentive to film it here. But if you actually make the kind of movie we respect, we’ll pay you even more. I have no problem with that. Do you?
Yes, Ms Deutsch. In fact, I will just let that paragraph stand as its own monument to exactly the kind of arrogant attitude that is typical of those who seek to use government power and taxpayer dollars to control what people do in their private lives.