We’ve never quite forgiven Johnny Carson for moving “The Tonight Show” from New York to California. So when we learned the show might be returning home with Jimmy Fallon as host, we went looking for the welcome mat.
It turns out that the welcome mat has been woven with New York tax dollars. And while we’re still glad to see the show coming back to Manhattan, we again wonder why our politicians have so little confidence that anyone would ever set up shop here without a bribe.
We’re talking about the $420 million a year the state gives away, with bipartisan support, to subsidize production costs through a tax credit. Though the state is opaque about who gets what — it says it can’t give out info on individual productions that might reveal their total costs — it’s not shy about its approach. As one state ad puts it, the new New York offers “over $1 billion in incentives and tax breaks.”
Here’s the problem: The state has to get that $1 billion somewhere. Which means other businesses and other taxpayers.
Politicians love this, because it makes for great photo ops. But the real test of an economy is how it treats all businesses, not just the glamorous ones. After all, when it comes to creating jobs and generating tax revenues, the unglamorous bodegas, dry cleaners, nail salons, travel agencies and so forth are just as valuable to our economy.
Wouldn’t it be refreshing to hear a politician speak up for them the next time some official proposes taking their money to underwrite a TV star?