Staff Reports
President Donald Trump met with actor Jon Voight at the White House and then took to Truth Social to call for a federal production tax credit. He said, bluntly, “Hollywood is a Complete and Total Disaster!” and urged Congress to approve a Federal Production Incentive to bring movie and TV jobs back to America. The Motion Picture Association and major unions cheered. Even Sen. Adam Schiff said he supports the idea. That sudden political momentum is real, and it puts Washington at a crossroad.
What Hollywood says is broken
Studios and guilds point to “runaway production.” Big shows and movies are shooting in Canada, the U.K., and other places that offer richer tax credits. Streaming made the money math even stranger. California and other states have lost lots of production spending and jobs. Industry groups say a national credit would level the playing field and lure projects home.
Why conservatives should not rush to bail them out
Still, conservatives have a right to be skeptical. Hollywood doesn’t just sell movies; it sells messages. Too often those messages treat half the country like the villain. A federal check would send taxpayer dollars straight to studios that spend years lecturing millions of Americans. You can love the craft and hate the politics. But you can’t pretend a blank check fixes the cultural problem that kept many viewers away in the first place.
If Congress acts, do it the right way
If lawmakers move forward, they must build a tight, time‑limited, job‑first credit. Make it temporary and targeted to actual production spending in the United States. Cap the credit per project, require clear audits, and bar fraud. Tie benefits to hiring American crews and to wages paid here, not to the ideological content of a show. Transferability should be limited so foreign buyers don’t game the system. In short: save jobs, not portfolios.
The politics will be messy. Jon Voight and the MPA want large, flexible credits. Senators like Adam Schiff are ready to work across the aisle. Fiscal hawks will warn about costs and trade risks. Conservatives should not reflexively oppose helping American workers, but they must insist on guardrails. Congress can protect jobs without becoming Hollywood’s ATM. Let’s be for American film jobs — not for subsidizing a culture that already chose to leave half its customers at the door.
