Select few benefit from film subsidies (but crumbling roads affect everyone)

By Jarrett Skorup | Michigan Capitol Confidential

A story in MLive on the movie “Batman vs. Superman” being filmed in metro Detroit demonstrates why it is so hard to get rid of programs that are nearly universally seen as economically destructive.

Susan Dorris, Oakland County film commissioner, provided little concrete evidence of any real economic impact the project will have, despite Warner Bros., which made $1.2 billion last year, receiving $35 million in corporate welfare courtesy of Michigan taxpayers.

“I have heard the term ‘cast of thousands,’ and I don’t know if that means it’s digitally created or its actual people employed,” she said. “But I do know they will be using a lot of extras.”

at Michigan Capitol Confidential.