L.A. Needs a Bigger Tax Incentive Program to Rebuild after the Fires

We love L.A. Randy Newman famously gave us the melody for that phrase. For more than 100 years, Los Angeles has been the entertainment capital of the world — a city of dreamers, creators and innovators. But now, our city needs help.

As someone who works in this industry, I’ve seen first-hand the impact of our community’s creativity and resilience. But recently, we all experienced something that shook us to our core. While I was out of the country shooting in Ireland, I felt helpless as my family back in Los Angeles was caught between two raging wildfires, evacuating with so many others as we waited to find out if our home was still standing. Mercifully, it was, but countless dear friends wound up losing everything. Entire communities were reduced to ash, along with the homes, dreams and life’s work of thousands.

It was the most helpless feeling I’ve ever had as a father and as someone who has an unshakeable love for Los Angeles. Hearing that your community has been wiped out is a surreal type of pain that I wouldn’t wish on anyone. This kind of massive destruction demands a massive response that goes far beyond the rebuilding of homes.

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Many years ago, in a different life, I had a fancy finance degree and was offered a plum job on Wall Street, which I turned down to become an actor. My parents are still reeling. I may have left the world of finance, but it’s still a world and a culture that never left my bones. It doesn’t take a finance degree to recognize that there are no simple or quick fixes to writing the next chapter of the L.A. story. But there is one important step we can take, and one that needs to be part of the rebuilding effort. We need to bring back the entertainment industry.

Of course, Los Angeles isn’t just about the entertainment industry. We’re a city of workers, shop owners, doctors, bartenders, nurses, teachers, landscapers and countless…