Plymouth Rock Studios - Trojan Horse
Proponents argue that we can turn the film industry into a sustainable sector of our economy by attracting investors to build movie studios here. Nothing could be further from the truth.
Film production companies like Fox and Universal have no interest in investing in Massachusetts to build studios. They want to have no "skin in the game" so they can remain free to pursue taxpayer subsidies wherever they are offered. The proposal to build a movie studio in Plymouth comes from a third party developer. His business plan is based on our willingness to pay his customers, movie production companies like Fox, to use his facility. According to the Massachusetts Department of Revenue, if Plymouth Rock Studios is built, it will cost taxpayers $3.2 billion over thirty years. (Plymouth Rock DOR Report)
Movie studios and a skilled workforce were not enough to keep the jobs in New York and California nor will they be enough to keep the jobs here. Only subsidies can do that. If our commitment to subsidies falters for even a moment, the film moguls will be on a plane to another state offering a steeper subsidy. (See NYT - Push for Film Credits to Win Back Jobs)
If Plymouth Rock is built and staffed with thousands of workers, (many of whom will move here from California and New York) it will be politically impossible to end the subsidies. Plymouth Rock is the Trojan horse that will back Massachusetts residents unwittingly into a permanent entitlement for this profitable industry.
