TDPS: Alaska reality shows get Sarah Palin socialist tax credits she supposedly opposed - TRANSCRIPT

[celtics23]

Run time: 05:20 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mo7GRfgvlng   Posted on YouTube: March 08, 2011 By YouTube Member: MidweekPolitics Views on YouTube: 233   Posted on DU: March 09, 2011 By DU Member: celtics23 Views on DU: 765

 
From: www.davidpakman.com | Subscription: www.davidpakman.com/membership | YouTube: www.youtube.com/midweekpolitics

David: If you're like me, Louis, you're probably into some of these different reality shows that are on TV, and the ones I'm specifically talking about are ones like, for example, "Flying Wild Alaska", and there's "Ice Road Truckers", "Gold Rush Alaska", so on and so forth. And... you've heard of these?

Louis: I've heard of all of them.

David: I started watching some of these, and I started to ask myself well, number one, why might there be so many Alaska-centered reality shows right now? Well, does it have to do with "Sarah Palin's Alaska" in some way, maybe that Sarah Palin's reality show inspired the idea of creating programming in Alaska? Is this something that is related to the Alaska Travel Bureau trying to get people to go to Alaska, because every single one of these shows seems to be talking about the Iditarod, regardless, you know, "Flying Wild Alaska" is about an airline, they had a half a show about the Iditarod, "Alaska State Troopers" is like "Cops", they had half a show about the Iditarod, so maybe there's something going on here where it is actually a specific plan to get people to travel to Alaska.

Louis: Makes sense.

David: I started looking into this, and there's two things going on. Number one, and this is going to be shocking to some, is that there's something called Alaska's Film Production Incentive Program, OK? And what this is is it's an initiative created to encourage film industry growth in Alaska. So applicants can qualify for up to 44% in a transferable tax credit on qualified film production expenses in Alaska. So I said well...

Louis: Right, and that was put in place by Palin, wasn't it?

David: I believe it was. You know, I actually was not able to find that. We were just rushing to get some of the facts on this, so I don't want to be misquoted on that.

Louis: But it might be.

David: It might've been. And well, what shows are benefiting from this? Well, Jean Worldwide, which is the company that produced "Sarah Palin's Alaska", received just under $1.2 million in these tax rebates for-- tax credit for producing "Sarah Palin's Alaska" in Alaska. "Ice Road Truckers", $900,000 in tax credits. "Alaska State Troopers", PSG Motion Pictures, which produces it, $31,000, OK?

So I have a couple of questions here. Number one, how important is it to spend state money on subsidizing the film industry when Alaskans can't even get affordable energy to their communities all across Alaska, and remember, drill baby drill, there's drilling happening there, and really, we should be subsidizing the film industry? Villages in Alaska, some of these very remote villages, pay the highest costs for their energy, food, transportation, and it's all driven by the high cost of fuel, OK?

And I really can't help but feel like the shows are this carefully crafted advertisement for Alaska. And I'm curious to know what goes on in these negotiations, are there kind of quid pro quos, wink-wink type of discussions, because really, multiple shows, one about flying and one about police, are spending so much time on the Iditarod and how wonderful the scenery of Alaska is, it almost seems to me like it is state-funded propaganda in the sense that the shows are put up there to promote Alaska and funded in up to 44% via tax credits from the state.

Louis: Right. Well, I mean, it makes sense that when there are talks about shows, people in Alaska are saying look, we're offering you this great tax credit, we just want you to make Alaska a little more appealing, you know? Draw people in.

David: And it's pure speculation. I... what you're saying makes perfect sense to me.

Louis: And not that that's necessarily a bad thing.

David: And by the way, I thought Sarah Palin was against socialism. Remember her talking about Barack Obama being a socialist anarchist Communist palling around with terrorists and Alaska isn't inolved in that? Isn't this a form of that, Louis? I mean, really, isn't that a form, we are taking a tax credit and giving it to private industries who are going in... I know it's done in all sorts of industries, I know it happens all over, but come on, Sarah Palin!

Louis: I'm not going to stoop and use the word socialist.

David: No, obviously I'm using it tongue-in-cheek...

Louis: Right.

David: Because Sarah Palin is the one who is so desperately against it. Something to think about. I think there's no question that the propaganda level on some of these shows, as interesting as they are, needs to be thought about by people. And remember, they're getting paid tax credits to these film production companies, and tax credits for the richest 2%. We've got to think about what's going on here, ladies and gentlemen.

Make sure to like us on Facebook, www.Facebook.com/DavidPakmanShow. Back with Congressman Richard Neal right after this.

Announcer: The David Pakman Show at www.DavidPakman.com.



Transcript provided by Alex Wickersham and www.Subscriptorium.com. For transcripts, translations, captions, and subtitles, or for more information, visit www.Subscriptorium.com, or contact Alex at [e-mail].

[qcmadman1]

1. I would laugh at the irony, but her show got the most money from this

[tins0404]

2. Alaska is actually the most socialist state in the country

[AlbertCat]

3. Alaska is actually the most socialist state in the country

All those big empty square "red" states out west sponge off the mostly "blue" coastal, populated states.

The "heartland" is socialist.

[WhoIsNumberNone]

4. Just one more example of Republican hypocrisy

And more proof that Republican voters don't know their ass from a hole in the ground.