Misguided Tax Break for Film Industry

I am having a problem squaring Gov. Gray Davis’ intention to offer some form of tax break for the movie industry with his recent speech pledging no new tax hikes (“Tax Break Being Sought for Filming,” Jan. 11). It seems to me that taking taxpayer money out of the general pool to give to the movie industry is much the same thing.

Far more offensive, though, is a realization of what this indicates about his priorities. He ought to be more concerned about increased salaries (or more tax breaks) for aspiring teachers, allowing and encouraging them to become educators. The same is true for the nursing profession. Does the governor not realize the serious shortage of nurses that could easily grow to dangerous proportions as the deficit of young, would-be nurses increases, creating an expanding void as an older nurse population retires? How about creating monetary inducements to reward and ensure an adequate number of nurses? Does he really think that making the movie industry a more lucrative business in California is more important than the nurturing and rewarding of genuinely noble work?

Norman Schulman

Beverly Hills