Those corporate fat cats in Hollywood just got another tax break, courtesy of Calif. Gov. Jerry Brown.

Variety reports Brown signed a bill late Sunday, the legislation’s final day of eligibility, extending California’s film production incentive program for another year.

Assembly Bill 1069 will provide a one-year $100 million extension to California’s 3-year-old Film and Television Tax Credit Program. In its three-year history, the California program has allocated credits totaling $400 million and will allocate its final $100 million by next July.

The bill, authored by Assemblyman Felipe Fuentes, received a 77-1 approval in the Assembly in June when it provided for a five-year extension.

“I’d like to applaud Governor Brown’s leadership in signing AB 1069 today,” Fuentes said in a statement early Monday. “By creating tens of thousands of jobs and pumping billions into our economy, the film and television tax credit program has truly been a statewide economic stimulus package.”

A recent study by the Los Angeles Economic Development Corp. showed that the first two years of the program has generated $3.8 billion dollars in economic activity statewide, created more than 20,000 jobs and over $200 million dollars in tax revenues.

Sounds like those hygienically challenged Occupy Wall Street types have a new front in their battle against The Man and his fat cat friends.

Kinsley manages to make his point without even touching on the hypocrisy factor; the idea that one of the most anti-business/pro-tax-the-rich institutions in America wold run around with their wealthy hands out begging for tax cuts for their rich selves…

Michael Kinsley in Politico:

[A]sked by the Times for one piece of advice to give his successor as governor, [Bill Richardson] used the opportunity to beg for a continued subsidy of the film and television industry.

New Mexico under Gov. Richardson was a pioneer in this field. In 2002, it began offering a credit of 15 percent — later increased to 25 percent — of the cost of making a movie in New Mexico (not counting star salaries and the mite paid to writers). Now, 42 states have followed its lead. New York has gone as high as 30 percent. These credits can generally be transferred, saved or used for other things, so it’s no problem if a particular movie doesn’t make money.

In less than a decade, the absurd notion of welfare for movie producers has evolved from the kind of weird thing they do in France to an unshakable American tradition. “I’m proud that New Mexico has been a leader in this effort,” Richardson wrote. …

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I do a line in my act that’s often copied about how if you want the government to run health care you need to spend a little more time at the DMV. However the Obama administration has given us a new benchmark in government ineptness. If you’re looking forward to the government running our health care system perhaps you should look over at the CARS program. If you think that a quickly cranked out complex government program is what’s best for the economy or health care check out the so called Cash for Clunkers debacle.

The idea was simple, offer an incentive to get people out of gas guzzlers and help boost lagging car sales. I don’t know why the auto industry was chosen for a big corporate welfare handout instead of the furniture or big screen TV folks. It may have something to do with the government owning a big hunk of the auto industry and therefore being on the hook for future pension and health care costs. Which, if I may offer a quick civics lesson review, means that you and I are now the proud owners of the Old GM obligations. (more…)