The really ironic thing is that many of the most vociferous defenders of the tax subsidies for movie production (i.e. Mitch Albom) tend to be people who would otherwise be skeptical or hostile to the idea that marginal tax changes make huge differences and some of the people that are most opposed to the tax subsidy program are people who usually never met a business tax break/subsidy they didn't like.

I think it's still a little early to tell if the program has been successful or not. The cold numbers say no but there are also studios and post production work opportunities opening up locally. The rubber will meet the road when the tax breaks are reduced and we see if the studios still find other reasons to work in Michigan or if they pack up and head elsewhere. Other businesses say with some justification "why not give everyone a tax break" while some politicians say in current environment the state simply can't afford to be cutting services for Michiganders while writing checks to Hollywood...

Hopefully though it does put Michigan on the map and change the national perception of the state. Time will tell.