Good morning,

We asked readers about subsidies for moviemakers. Down below, you'll find what they had to say.

This is the Texas Minute for Tuesday, October 15, 2024.

– Michael Quinn Sullivan 

ICYMI: Chris Salcedo Interviewed President Trump

• Check out the latest edition of the Salcedo Storm podcast, in which Chris Salcedo discusses his NewsMax interview with President Donald Trump.
         
• "Biden was bad, but he wasn't like, you know, this one's bad. This one's a Marxist. She's a Marxist. Her father was a Marxist, and he was a professor of Marxist economics." – Donald Trump

Federal Judge Blocks More Texas Election Integrity Laws

• With less than three weeks until the General Election, a federal judge is continuing to block enforcement of Texas election integrity laws. Erin Anderson has the details.
      
• District Judge Xavier Rodriguez was appointed by President George W. Bush. He has issued an order blocking state and county officials from investigating or prosecuting suspected violations of “voter assistance” provisions. The law was passed in 2021. It is meant to protect people from being manipulated into having their votes stolen.

Venezuelan Gang Member Arrested for Recruiting Middle School Students

• A confirmed member of the Tren de Aragua gang has been arrested after allegedly recruiting students from two Houston middle schools. As Emily Medeiros reports, the Venezuelan gang has moved rapidly into the United States, committing crimes from New York to Florida and now into Texas.
       
• Jorgenys Robertson Cova illegally entered the United States two years ago. Cova was scheduled for an asylum hearing in Houston on the same day he was taken into custody and booked into the Brazoria County Jail.
       
• The man is suspected of recruiting students from Jane Long Academy and Las Americas, both of which are located in the Houston Independent School District. He was arrested last week in connection with a theft in Pearland and recruiting the students.
              
• A Houston ISD spokesperson told Texas Scorecard that the district has not been informed of any activities related to the gang.

RELATED NEWS

• An SIA is someone identified by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security as a potential national security threat due to analysis of their travel patterns and country of origin. This latest group was caught crossing through private property in Maverick County.
      
• In September, 27 SIAs crossed into Maverick County from Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iran, Egypt, and India. Just last week, 14 SIAs from Iran, Egypt, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo were apprehended.

Houston ISD Bond Faces Bipartisan Opposition

• Striking a rare tone of bipartisanship, the GOP and Democrat political parties in Harris County have come out in opposition to Houston Independent School District’s proposed $4.4 billion bond on the ballot this November. Charles Blain reports this is the largest school bond in state history and, if approved by voters, is expected to cost as much as $8.8 billion when interest is factored in.
      
• The Republicans have focused on the district’s long and storied history of “financial mismanagement and malfeasance,” while the Democrats are condemning Superintendent Mike Miles and the current school board. 
       
• The bond does have support from the business-focused Greater Houston Partnership.

Superintendent Gets Raise While Students Are Failing

• Elected trustees in the Edgewood Independent School District are under fire after extending the superintendent’s contract and increasing his salary despite a vast majority of the students' failing academic performance. 
      
• Superintendent Eduardo Hernández’s contract was recently extended to 2029, and his base salary was raised to $291,923 per year.
       
• Only 23 percent of Edgewood ISD students can read, write, and do math at or above grade level. The statewide average is 48 percent.
      
• “It’s unthinkable that public school employees are raking in President of the United States-level salaries. It’s indefensible that they’re earning as much while failing badly at their jobs.” – James Quintero, Texas Public Policy Foundation

Quote-Unquote

"Right is still right, even if you stand by yourself."

– Clarence Thomas​

Y'All Answered

Members of the Texas Senate heard last week from advocates for expanded subsidies for Hollywood filmmakers. Proponents said Texas needs to offer bigger film subsidies, like Georgia and New Mexico, to attract movie production to the state. Opponents, who were not invited to testify, have criticized Texas' expenditures that have historically gone to fund B-rated movies and commercials for Taco Bell and the U.S. Post Office.

Yesterday, we asked readers if the state should continue subsidizing the film industry. Just 3.5 percent of readers support the film subsidies, while 96.5 percent oppose them.

Here's a sampling of replies we received after folks participated in the survey...

• “As a retired studio owner and producer, I answered a reluctant 'no.'  It’s not really that simple. No, to corporate welfare certainly, but historically, sales tax exemptions and ease of hiring day labor and independent contractors reporting on Form 1099 have made Texas a welcome venue, and we need to expand on those ideas. It’s a clean industry and brings in revenue to the locations they chose, but it is not a career opportunity for most 'free lancers' in the state. What it does is create a short-term gig for those subcontractors in the state who otherwise are waiting tables somewhere in anticipation of the next shoot.  We don’t need to underwrite productions, but the tax thing and easing up of TWC makes a huge difference, especially to up-start independent producers.” – Robert Bruce
      

• “Government should not be providing subsidies.  It should be left up to the private industry.  Subsidies provided by the government always gets in the wrong hands.” – Madeline Bentivegna
       

• “If the film industry needs incentives to film here in Texas, let them get it from some other place other than my pocket.” – Charles Hastings
      

• “So out-of-state filmmakers can get subsidies, but Texas residents are STILL waiting for real and lasting property tax relief? Unreal.” – Cindy Armstrong
      

• “Hollywood is so leftist-twisted-perverse, Texas should not crack open the door for them.  And guess what—most of the great movies about Texas from the Golden Era—they weren't made in Texas anyway.” – Tim Rhodes
       

• “ABSOLUTELY ‘HAIL’ NO to subsidies to any film industry... the garbage they produce does not promote the values I believe in. Give us (We The People, property taxpayers) relief.” – Elizabeth Day
      

• “Why should we support woke DEI  Hollywood?” – Tom Gavin
      

• “It is unrealistic to support any enterprises for extended periods of time. Not only movie makers get such benefits.” – Barbara McClure
      

• “Any business that makes billions of dollars a year and can afford to pay employees tens of millions of dollars a year does not need government welfare. If other states want to do that - let them have it. That is one competition Texas should not win.” – Steve Sullivan
      

• “I don't generally support subsidies. … If a specific subsidy is truly an investment that brings greater economic returns to Texas, then it's worth considering. This appears to be the case with certain film incentives. Lots of Texans and Texas businesses benefit from a production in a Texas community (hotels, restaurants, journeyman jobs, etc.). If the market was truly free, Texas would be attractive to the film industry. Unfortunately, other states have incentives which will tip the scales in their favor.” – Ashley Forbes
       

• “Tax subsidies are a mixed bag. I am for them if the return to the taxpayers is there. I am talking actual tax revenue as a return be it by increased wages and sales tax. A tax subsidy for a corporation that is foreign-owned or based out of state needs to be looked at very closely. Those are almost certainly going to take money from the local population and transfer it somewhere else.” – Charles Drinkwater
      

• “When people are having hard times paying their bills, why are we using tax payers money to give $200 million to the movie industry? I am truly disappointed in Taylor Sheridan (net worth $70 million) for endorsing this; he basically wants a handout.” – Leslie Denson
      

• “Frankly, I’m tired of government spending taxpayer money to bring more people to Texas and buy up our land and Californicate our state.” – Alan Pratt
      

• “The movie industry brings in money and tourism. What's the difference between this and subsidizing corporations to relocate?” – Jeremy Pollack
       

• “Rather, they should pay us to use our beautiful state in their movies. Let’s keep all of Hollywood that we can out of here!” – Karen Breazeale

Directory of Your Current U.S. & Texas Lawmakers

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