They laughed when industry moved out of the Midwest to China and Mexico. They said it was a 'good' because the common man could buy lots more stuff--after all, it was cheaper stuff!
...Over the past decade, total film and TV production in Los Angeles has plummeted by nearly 40 percent, according to data from the region’s official film office. Both big-name blockbusters and experimental indies have fled to other states and countries, looking for cheaper labor and more attractive tax incentives given studio cutbacks and rising costs....
Looks kinda familiar if you live in the Rust Belt, and has the same knock-on effects, too. Just substitute 'tool & die shops, industrial-supply houses, and various professional-services outfits' for the below list.
...The economic impact of this exodus extends far beyond actors, writers and directors. Hit hardest are the behind-the-scenes blue-collar workers — the makeup artists and set decorators, the drivers and dry cleaners — who were already struggling to survive in one of the nation’s most expensive metropolises.
Just as dispiriting is the downturn’s psychic toll. Hollywood is California’s most iconic export, as synonymous with the state as sunshine. It made Los Angeles a worldwide hub for artists and dreamers. But America’s fantasy factory is offshoring. Evidence is found in empty soundstages, prop houses selling off their stock, dwindling job opportunities....
Now they're begging California for large money gifts in the form of tax cuts/rebates because the common man cannot even afford to buy 'cheap stuff' any more.
Note that the common man is hit hardest in both the Rust Belt and the new Hollywood Rust Belt..
But before you run off screaming "Eat the Rich!!" consider this:
Look to Government's demands for money masquerading with "do-gooder" names like EEOC, EPA, ERISA, FUCA, SUCA, and countless Fed, State, and local taxes and permit-fees; then add in the hundreds of 'must-hire' lawyers, accountants, and HR types those Government demands require.
The Stage Four cancer of Government demands plays a large role in the demise of Hollywood as they did in the creation of the Rust Belt.
Surprised??
Very perceptive post.
ReplyDeleteAs a life-long resident of the Rust Belt (Akron Ohio), I have lived through the boom times of the 1960s when all the rubber shops, factories, and skilled labor was plentiful and well-paid, with good benefits.
I also lived through its demise in the 1980s. I had to leave my job at Firestone as a clerical because so much work was sent South and over the border. The reason given was that the Union (United Rubber Workers - since merged with the United Steel Workers) were too greedy. The Southerners found that they wanted the same protection, wages, and benefits as the Union, and their jobs were sent overseas.
Everyone called us entitled whiners. Hillary Clinton even called us "deplorables" and did not deem it necessary to visit the Rust Belt during her 2016 presidential campaign. We listened and acted accordingly.