Well this was from February. Maybe that’s true and he’ll win in a landslide, I don’t know. Florida is a very weird place. If he is what the future holds for this country, we are in deep deep shit. It is going to get very dark.
That’s the same one I found, with apparently less rounding of the difference.
Yeah I saw someone tweet it, and thought it was new after all this war on Mickey Mouse stuff, but apparently not. Well. I stopped obsessing over polls after 2016, conventional wisdom doesn’t seem to apply very much to these times.
I find the left’s position amazing how it stands up for the right of free speech for a corporation. But this isn’t about that. Disney can do what it wants or say what it wants. This is about whether it can have a special, to them, governmental district. Can I move to FL and have Ultravires, Inc. be my own government? Why not? Why Disney?
Not sure if it’s been mentioned, but as this story is rolling around in the news today there is discussion around the tax implications and bond servicing that would fall to the two counties Disney sits on. If the Democrats were smart they could simply start messaging that DeSantis wants to raise taxes.
First they came for the corporations, but I didn’t speak up, because I’m not a corporation.
So is this then a benefit to Disney and no harm and no standing? The Dems want it both ways. Is Disney being punished or is it being rewarded by having their obligations pushed off on the surrounding counties?
And then we all had no right to our own government special district.
AIUI, Disney pays some of the taxes to itself, via Reedy Creek, to help take care of the needs of it’s properties. Without Reedy Creek, those taxes go away, and the counties will have to fill-in the gaps. And the bond obligations have grown over the years from the initial investment, and those would also get transferred from Reedy Creek to the counties. Perhaps Disney may financially benefit, but lose some control over it’s environment that has been carefully cultivated. Still, locals get a tax increase - that cannot be a good look for DeSantis.
That’s not at all what this is about, and I’m surprised you’d miss that given your expertise with the law.
Nope, crappy analogy because we aren’t debating the establishment of a special district back in 1966. We are debating whether it is appropriate for Florida’s elected officials to punish their enemies and cement their own power.
If Ultravires, Inc WAS a corporation with some kind of benefit granted by the government, would you be OK with that being revoked not for any specific reason having to do with the state or the way UV, Inc uses the land but because the state doesn’t like that you don’t make your employees list their pronouns?
Is Disney a private corporation or a government entity? If they are the latter (which they are) it seems that FL can control that how it would like, my law degree notwithstanding.
Think of it this way. Think if Disney said that blacks and Jews were a pestilence on society and that they should all be killed. They stipulate that they will comply with civil rights laws and admit blacks and Jews on equal terms, until such laws are repealed and they advocate for that repeal, and then advocate for amendments to the Constitution for genocide.
Still no power for FL to revoke their quasi-government status because free speech?
Of course Florida has the power to revoke the arrangement. The question is whether they should, and whether they are doing so for the right reasons.
And they are. You are a happy non-political fun park in the swamp, then have at it. You are now taking part in state politics? Then no.
Is this opinion based on the idea that Disney has up until now not taken part in state politics?
What large employer in any state has not taken part in state politics? The state wants to pass a law that damages some of your client base. The client base demands you take a stand, which is that the law should be repealed. The state now wants to punish you for that be involving an agreement that has nothing to do with the new law. That seems wrong to me.
@UltraVires, I’m curious how you think this special district came to exist in the first place. How did a mythical non-political happy fun time company come to run a patch of Florida swamp?
I’ll give you a hint: here’s what Wikipedia has to say about it.
When was Disney non political?
When they supported Conservative policies
To play a bit of devil’s advocate here, the old-school conservative philosophy was very much centered around the notion that change requires need- sort of a “if it’s not broken, don’t fix it” kind of thinking. And they used to view themselves in a sort of protective role, in that they felt like they were preserving the status quo, which was good.
In a non-dysfunctional system, you really need both sides of the coin- the progressive AND the conservatives- somewhere in the sausage making, compromises will be made, and good policy will generally result. The idea is that both sides are doing what they think is right, and the correct policy is somewhere between. This is back before the Republicans were entirely ideologically in bed with the Religious Right.
But these days, the Republican party (not going to call them conservative) are more reactionary, vindictive and petty than anything else. It’s not about putting brakes on what they see as unnecessary or radical change, it’s about trying to roll the clock back and doing injury to their enemies, as well as try to impose ideological viewpoints through fear and coercion, rather than through persuasion.
I think that Disney is likely inclusive, because they see the writing on the wall societally, and don’t want to be considered irrelevant. I hold no illusions that they’re particularly enlightened or that it’s anything other than something calculated to increase (or prevent the decrease) of profits.
But this Florida Republican nonsense is basically retribution for Disney having the temerity to say something they don’t like. WTF? This is absurd and terrifying.
Disney ought to show them that retribution is a game two can play at. Rather than just being vaguely and fairly inoffensively inclusive, they ought to just go full-bore, and lampoon the GOP and specific GOP politicians while they’re at it. See how the GOP likes being on the wrong end of Disney’s cultural and media influence for the next decade or so.
For those who know Beau of the Fifth Column, here’s his take (about 10min):
Interestingly, it’s his opinion that – if this dissolution of RCID goes through – Disney will likely have to close up shop in FL.
The basis for his position is that Disney will no longer be able to control every aspect of its infrastructure to the gnat’s ass. They won’t be able to maintain and portray the illusion of ‘perfection’ that is really core to the Disney World tourist experience.
He also says that DeSantis’s move will have a hugely chilling effect on FL’s ability to recruit large businesses to the state, overly concerned that deals can be rescinded on a politician’s whim.
Effectively, he says it’s a huge lose for Florida, writ large, and that – in Beau’s opinion – the damage is already done.
Interesting take.
ETA: this whole thing has reminded me of Trump’s “perfect call” with Zelensky: a lose for both of the sovereign nations involved, but a potential win for Trump’s reelection possibilities.
This RCID/DeSantis move seems to me to be a lose for Disney, a lose for Floridians, and – maybe – a potential gain for DeSantis.
But I doubt he’ll end up on top of this one.