Watch Out Francis Underwood. MOCO ain't afraid to throw you off the platform!

Oh, that poor Francis Underwood.  First, his mistress turned on him, then his chief of staff got bonked on the head by a former prostitute.  And, let's not even mention that little unpleasantness in the parking garage during the first season.

Francis' latest nemesis?  The Maryland House of Delegates.  They just gave him a new pair of Francis Underwood cufflinks.

At this point you non-DMV readers (I suspect I can count you all on one hand, but I love you all!) are probably wondering where I'm going with this.  It turns out that House of Cards isn't actually filmed in DC.  It is filmed in Maryland, mostly in Baltimore, Harford County, and Annapolis. 

And, those poor sods who produce House of Cards tell us they'll have to get in a bread line leave if they don't get another round of tax credits.  That's right, the guys who brought you Francis Underwood are playing hardball.  They are threatening to move production out of Maryland and find some pretty row houses elsewhere if the requested tax credits aren't forthcoming.  Keven Spacey even came to Annapolis to make the case. 

According to the Washington Post Maryland is allowed by law to allocate 7.5 million to movie/TV production in the state.  Last year a special dispensation was passed that allowed greater amounts of tax credits.  With the one time additional allocation, House of Cards got 11 million in tax credits in its first season and 15 million in its second season.  It is now asking for more credits in its 3rd season, although the Post reports the production company hasn't stipulated how much it will need. 

Which brings us to Delegate C. William Frick (D-Montgomery County).  No, he didn't off anybody.  But he did swat the ball back in the House of Card's court with a loud thwack.  Specifically, he introduced an amendment (read it here) to an unrelated bill  that basically gives the state the right to use eminent domain to seize production equipment of film companies who leave the state after having received the tax credit.  And, it passed easily. 

So, which Francis Underwood should we support?  I'm going with Frick.  I doubt he'll off his opponents, for starters.  I also expect he's thinking about the state's interests more than the House of Cards Production team is.  In fact, I haven't seen anything yet to convince me that House of Cards is losing money.  At some point, corporations, even those in Hollywood who can usually get away with this stuff because everyone assumes they are progressive, need to suck it upbehave more responsibly. Contributing to the Maryland economy while also making a profit should be enough.  The Maryland folks who work on your crews are just as important as your investors.  Do you really need another yacht? 

Corporate welfare is unattractive, even if Kevin Spacey is the one whipping the votes in support of it.