Hmm. I googled to confirm, and it wasn’t readily apparent, though a Newsmax cite (yeah, sorry) said it’s Disney. The stats are not readily apparent because Disney operates as a number of separate entities (including each theme park). Interestingly, I didn’t see Publix in any of the cites.
Again, a minor quibble in any event. Disney has huge financial muscle for a variety of reasons in Florida, and it still seems to me that a strategic flex might have enormous impact.
Not only each theme park, but I’m willing to bet that the hotels operate as their own entities.
There is another big difference if you are comparing to Publix. Publix stores are probably distributed fairly evenly throughout the state, and I seriously doubt that there are any communities that depend on Publix for their survival. If Publix were to disappear tomorrow, another grocery franchise would probably spring up in its place.
Disney, on the other hand, is concentrated in a small area of Central Florida, and the economy of that area is probably almost completely dependent on Disney. It’s not just the people employed by Disney, but the employees of the non-Disney hotels, restaurants and shops that cater to the Disney tourist trade.
Granted, there are a few other theme parks in the area and Universal has lots of attractions, but I still think they are largely piggybacking off of Disney tourist traffic and I’m guessing that they are another business that would suffer if Disney disappeared.
Oh, absolutely, I agree.
Again, I absolutely agree. From what I can find online, Disney is the largest employer in the central Florida region, and the economy of the entire state would take a massive, and quite noticeable hit, if they left.
And that would be a legacy that Ron would never live down.
True. But Disney has a massive investment there. Way too much to abandon in a fit of pique.
Just rattle the saber, no matter how much the threat of an all-out war is impractical. Commence talks about moving Disney cruises to a different port (as suggested upthread), sadly announce that all jobs that can be done remotely may have to move to a less fascist state, just hint that it might be the best financial decision long term to relocate the whole shooting match, much as they’d hate to have to do so…
Political zeal starts to quickly melt when one’s livelihood is on the line.
“What a great situation we all had—Disney and Florida both—until Governor Dickhead decided to throw a tantrum. Such an avoidable shame!”
North Carolina Republicans are just as insane as Florida Republicans. They’ve just been kept in line the last couple of years because Democratic Governor Roy Cooper has vetoed their more extreme measures. But they just managed to get a Democrat to party switch, giving them the necessary majority to override his vetoes.
Disney would just end up in the same situation they’re in now when NC Republicans start passing egregious socially conservative legislation and Disney gets forced into picking a side.
Yeah, the whole Southeast US is right now bad for Disney. The business community in the respective states may want them, the cities may want them, but the ruling Red caste at the statehouses will make it hostile.
I’m going to disagree. Previously this was the case, but the Republican base has now been fully conditioned to the “look what you made me do!” excuse. So if (extremely unlikely) Disney did arrange a partial / full retreat from FL, the Democrats would blame DeSantis, but the vast majority of Republicans would blame Disney for leaving due to being ‘woke’ and ‘unfair’.
Same way we’re almost certainly headed to a debt ceiling disaster, because McCarthy and the Republicans don’t have agendas anymore, they want Democrats to cave into doing things the Republicans want (cut everything but defense) but won’t actually put out detailed proposals - so when it goes wrong, it’s still not their fault.
So back to the quoted section, I -MISS- the days when Republicans had a platform and considered their own interests and that of their voters other than pandering to a social war.
That’s a reasonable perspective. But I still think when the leopard is advancing to eat a person’s face, said person’s party loyalty tends to waver just a bit.
I’ll just add, though, that if I assert that Disney should do Strategy A, and Disney actually follows Strategy B, it’s a safe bet that the latter is the better approach. Disney knows what they’re doing.
I’m curious what you base this belief on, because it certainly isn’t based on how Republicans have behaved in the past.
Probably just wishful thinking, but it seems that the more subtle efforts against their interests elude the hardcore Trumpy faithful. Tax cuts for the wealthy that create additional deficit obligations that their own kids will have to deal with, that kind of thing.
But it seems as if the Trumpers who were prosecuted for January 6, at least some of them, were shocked and disillusioned when Trump let them trot off to prison without a pardon. As one example. “Wait a minute, none of this stuff was supposed to impact me unfavorably!”
So, a situation where Disney, masters of shaping the message, says we’d stay if not for that asshole in the Governor’s mansion, sorry about your job—well, it at least seems to me that this could be a classic “Wait a minute, you mean the leopard is going to eat my face?” situation. Even the densest loyalist, even if they hate the “woke crowd,” would recognize that Disney has the real power and that Desantis played a shitty hand, and the Guv could fold at any time and make everything nice again.
As I said previously though, the fact that Disney is ignoring my wisdom is probably proof enough that I’m all wet.
The only reports I’ve seen is from Democrats in the state legislature:
https://thehill.com/changing-america/enrichment/arts-culture/3960940-north-carolina-senator-wants-disney-world-to-move-to-the-tar-heel-state/
I also think, given the Ds are only a small minority in the legislature, that this is more a publicity stunt than a serious proposal.
Disney Sues Desantis and Oversight Board
“Disney finds itself in this regrettable position because it expressed a viewpoint the Governor and his allies did not like. Disney wishes that things could have been resolved a different way,” the lawsuit says. “But Disney also knows that it is fortunate to have the resources to take a stand against the State’s retaliation – a stand smaller businesses and individuals might not be able to take when the State comes after them for expressing their own views. In America, the government cannot punish you for speaking your mind.”
I’m curious what possible counter-argument there is to this? I have thought this was a clear-cut, blatant first amendment violation from the very start of this. The state punishing a business for speech that displeases the Governor? I’m sure Disney has had this ready to go from early on and was hoping to just outmaneuver him. Seems to me DeSantis should have backed off long ago, but he just keeps doubling down and stepping on rake after rake. It’s also pissing off GOP donors. How is this war against Disney even helping him? To me it looks like he’s taking one L after another.
Defending corporate rights versus attacking gay rights. If this case makes it to the Supreme Court, some of the conservative justices’ heads may explode.
And DeSantis has no defense. He’s blatantly said several times that this is what Disney gets for opposing him. He has occasionally tried to soften it, depending on his audience, to make it seem like it’s not purely political punishment. More usually, however, he’s celebrating how he’s sticking it to the “woke” corporation for butting in to matters that he says don’t concern them.
I hate Disney for the way they’ve collected and commodified popular culture, ruined copyright, and only support progressive causes in the most superficial way when it’s convenient to them. That said, I’m happy to see them give DeSantis a bloody nose, I just hope it’s enough to actually harm DeSantis and his Florida republicans in a meaningful way.
Nikki Haley puts the screws to DeSantis, says Disney is welcome in South Carolina.
"[South Carolina’s] not woke, but we’re not sanctimonious about it either.”
I agree, and I am eager to read the legal experts (including our own) opine on the merits of the suit. My worry is that there is some longstanding deference to executive decisions, so long as the actions are not violative of their enumerated powers.
The beauty of Disney’s case is that DeStupid’s only possible line of defense is to argue that Citizens United (the “corporations are people, my friend” ruling) was wrongly decided. Good luck taking that argument to the current Supreme Court…