There is trouble in Carson City today.
The Legislature is back for a special session and the deal on the table is not a deal at all. It is a big, ugly Hollywood handout dressed up as “economic development.”
I hope Nevadans see through it.
The proposal in front of lawmakers would boost Nevada’s film tax credits to one hundred ninety million dollars a year. Not a one-time thing. Every year.
That is money pulled from Nevada taxpayers and routed straight into the pockets of Hollywood studios that already make more money than the rest of us combined.
I have been around politics long enough to spot a hustle. This one’s not even subtle.
A Giveaway, Not a Plan
Supporters keep talking about jobs. They always do. But when you read the fine print, the promises fall apart.
States like New York recently learned that twenty years of film subsidies produced zero gain for their economy.
A study commissioned by the New York Department of Taxation and Finance found that for every dollar the government paid out, they got only thirty-one cents back.
Billions in film & TV subsidies yield zero (or less) for NY economy, state-sponsored study finds – Empire Center for Public Policy. #NVLEG https://t.co/FyRIMB960e
— Michael Brown (@MJBofDCA) November 13, 2025
Even the Wall Street Journal covered how these credits rarely pay for themselves.
If it didn’t work for a giant state with a massive film workforce, why would it magically work for us?
Nevada already struggles with big holes in our budget. We need teachers. We need police. We need mental health support. We need better roads in rural counties.
Yet Democrats in the Legislature think shoveling one hundred ninety million dollars a year to studios from California is the best use of our money.
That is not economic development. That is economic surrender.
What Supporters Claim
To be fair, supporters say this will bring new studios to Las Vegas. They say it will create construction jobs. They say it will bring long-term growth.
But we have heard that before.
Other states like Michigan and Louisiana bought the same pitch. They ended up spending hundreds of millions only to watch production companies leave the moment the incentives slowed down.
Film companies do not stay because they love your state. They stay until the money runs out.
That is not a partnership. That is a rental agreement.
Nevada’s Real Priorities
Nevada families are getting squeezed from every direction. Prices are up. Crime is up. School performance is near the bottom.
We have real problems that need real focus.
Ask any parent in Clark County if they think a Hollywood tax credit should come before school safety. They will laugh you out of the room.
We’re told this special session is important for our future. I agree.
But our future depends on not falling for every shiny new pitch that shows up wearing sunglasses and promising the world. We should be fixing what’s already broken.
This is not about being anti-business. I run businesses. And I want companies to grow here.
But I want them to grow because Nevada is a smart place to invest, not because we cut them a check the size of a small county budget.
A Simple Test
Here is an easy way to look at this. If the film industry really believed Nevada had long-term potential, they would be breaking ground right now.
They would be building studios, hiring local workers, and betting on our future.
Instead, they’re holding out their hands like a teenager asking for gas money while spending a small fortune in advertising this weekend trying to sell their snake oil to an unsuspecting public.
A good deal does not need a subsidy. A good deal stands on its own. This one cannot stand at all.
Nevada lawmakers should vote no. Not because Hollywood is bad. Not because growth is bad. But because this is the wrong time and the wrong way to invest in our state.
We deserve better than a splashy headline followed by twenty years of bills.
