Now, I’ll admit to being somewhat shortsighted at times when spending taxpayer dollars. but this story about giving money away to Hollywood seems to me to be a prime example of what not to do.

Texas, a rejected suitor that has watched 32 film projects consider the state’s charms only to waltz away, taking big economic benefits with them, is putting millions into a film incentive program meant to lure the next blockbuster … and the one after that, and the one after that.

Perry signed the $22 million bill into law Thursday with fanfare, joined by the rakish Dennis Quaid, a Houston native who is moving to Texas in a couple of years and wants it to become “the new Hollywood.”

That’s right, during the last legislative session, our statesmen voted to give away millions of our dollars to private business, hoping to lure them into spending money in our great state. And what kind of thanks do we get? A great big ‘ol lawsuit threat, that’s what.

The Motion Picture Association of America, a leading organization in the very business that Gov. Rick Perry is courting, last week urged him to veto the bill, saying the state was leaving itself open to a lawsuit.

Why the heck would they want to sue us?

A letter from Stevenson said the provision would permit state government to review and approve motion picture scripts to be eligible for a production incentive, which it said “contravenes the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution which guarantees freedom of expression, and it will discourage filmmakers from coming to Texas.”

That’s a backhoe full of bovine excrement, to borrow a phrase. Exactly why we shouldn’t be giving money to private business, be it the arts or professional sports teams. $22 million would repair an awful lot of potholes.

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