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Published Tuesday, Aug. 19, 2008 | 3:38 p.m.
Updated Tuesday, Oct. 28, 2008 | 10:15 a.m.
Sun Expanded Coverage
(The Sun has gone on the road to listen to voters and talk to political leaders around the West. Reporters will examine the economic, cultural and demographic forces re-shaping the region as they drive to Denver for the first of the two major party conventions the Sun will cover.)
ALBUQUERQUE -- We're doing some reporting this week on how other states in the Intermountain West are trying to create vibrant, diverse and sustainable economies. New Mexico started a tax incentive program for the movie business, and it's working quite well, at least measured by the number of movies and TV shows being shot here. Economists are genearally leery of these programs, which are often just giveaways to big business, who wind up blackmailing everyone for more and more tax breaks. So we'll see if New Mexico is getting any bang for its buck, and whether Nevada could be doing more. (We certainly do a lot for two industries, but the question is, what can we do to draw others?)
We were on the set of "Easy Money," whose executive producers were writers on "The Sopranos." It will be on the CW in the fall. It stars Judge Reinhold. Hey, who remembers the scene in "Fast Times at Ridgemont High" when....oh, this is a family newspaper, after all.
He was on the set briefly before getting in his BMW SUV.
The show's about a family that gets rich off a payday lending business, so it's quite relevant to Las Vegas. Will Speaker Buckley have it canceled?
No, it is not a wise way for a state to spend the money.
It is a very wise way for a state to invest in a clean industry that brings great revenues to state who have incentive programs. Before New Mexico had an incentive program in place, it took in no more that $6 million annually (which was as recently as 2003) - this past year, it took in over $400 million. This is just revenue from films shooting in the state...and doesn't include the higher employment rates from all those who are working in the industry. The revenue the state takes in from filmmakers is earmarked for education as well as other socially minded issues. Isn't bringing a new industry and employment to a state a better way to infuse a state with money - instead of another lottery?
Take a ride down I40 and view the back yards in New Mexico - they need to change their slogan from Land of Enchantment to Land of Abandonment. The backyards look like salvage yards - what a pitiful place.
New Mexico is fairly immune to economic cycles because it is supported by our federal tax dollars. The federal spending to tax ratio is 2.00 in New Mexico versus 0.73 for Nevada (Reference Tax Foundation 03/2006). That is in New Mexico, for every dollar in taxes paid, the state receives two dollars back.
Here are just a few of the federal entities with significant presence:
1) Two directorates of the DOD Air Force Research Laboratory
2) DOE’s Sandia National Laboratory and Los Alamos National Laboratory
3) US Forest Service
4) DOD Cannon Air Force Base
5) DOD White Sands Missile Range
6) US Department of Agriculture Jornada Experimental Range
7) DOD Defense Technical Information Center
8) USGS Seismological Laboratory
Even as host to the Senate Majority Leader, Nevada can’t compete at this level.
Pathetic.