I avoided posting but I feel like I have to vent re: DeSantis, Disney

[In It to Win It]

The only social media I have is Twitter. Admittedly, I just look. I'm not that active. I follow 5 people who are all lawyers and that's it. I have two rules:

1) Don't look at Twitter in the mornings and on the weekends
2) Never engage, just look

I broke my own rule. I went down the Twitter rabbit hole this morning. I didn't engage but I definitely looked. Republicans on Twitter are from another planet. Republicans' primary talking point regarding Disney is that "the left" is all of a sudden defending tax incentives for a large company with no acknowledgement that this is retaliatory, or this is okay and not violating any law or any core American beliefs about government power because the government of Florida is revoking a privilege and not a right.

I am a lifelong Floridian. For all my life, I couldn't imagine living anywhere else. Even though Florida needs every Democratic voter it can get, my thoughts on living here is starting to change. I have a problem with using the power of the government to retaliate against ANYONE for speaking in opposition of a political stance. That goes for any political position whether I agree with it or not. That is a bridge too far for me. If these were Democrats in charge of the Florida government passing a pro-abortion bill and then proceeding to punish Disney in the same manner for an anti-abortion stance, that would lose me as a voter.

No government or government official in the United States should engage in the business of revenge against it's own citizens and companies for taking an opposing political stance. I will not pretend that this is not retaliation with a touch of political theater. I will not pretend that this wasn't retaliation against an entity who is a stakeholder in the state of Florida solely because that entity opposed a SINGLE. FUCKING. BILL.

I understand that the state of Florida is well within its power and right to revoke any privileges and tax incentives it gives to Disney. I do not debate that. The context for doing that is important; The circumstances for doing that are important; the 'why' of it all is important.

Big business has a lot of sway in politics. Disney in Florida, Delta Air Lines and Coca-Cola in Georgia, and so on. In theory, Disney is getting these privileges for investing in Florida, providing jobs and so on. In theory, Delta is getting their tax incentives for investing in Georgia, providing jobs and so on. That can mean a lot to the people on the ground. When the state of Georgia threatened to take away Delta's tax incentives as retaliation for Delta speaking out against a voter suppression law, that was a bridge too far for me.

If the government is going to revoke the privileges that it gives to Disney, I'm sure Disney will be fine. I won't shed a tear for Disney. However, if you're going to revoke them, revoke those privileges for Disney paying their employees under the minimum wage. Revoke those privileges for abusive labor practices. Revoke them for violating safety regulations. Revoke those privileges because there is benefit to the people of Florida. Apparently, underpaying employees -who happen to be Florida voters- isn't enough for the government to revoke those privileges. A more sufficient reason for revoking those privileges is voicing opposition over a piece of vague legislation that's still looking for problem to fix.

Let's assume that the revoking this privilege as retaliation is okay because it's only a privilege that can be revoked by the government at any time. Driving is a privilege and not a right. Should I and every other Democrat expect a letter in the mail revoking their drivers license for picking a fight with Republicans or is that a bridge too far?

[Tommy Carcetti]

1. Disney is an awful corporation who is being "punished" for the wrong reasons

In the end they’ll be fine.

Universal doesn’t have a special tax district and they’re doing gangbusters.

The thing is so stupid from all ends.

[In It to Win It]

3. I agree, it is stupid from all ends.

Especially since such leverage could have been used for a positive change rather than just a political stunt.

[ecstatic]

2. I'm worried that corporations are going to fall in line

They're not going to weigh in on these issues and they're going to keep quiet in order to keep their tax breaks. This is also happening in the state of Georgia. kkkemp and the qOP have been punishing companies that dare to speak out against the voter disenfranchisement laws.

[maxrandb]

9. That's why we can't "fall in line"

Look, it's pretty fucking simple.

Nothing will change. The racism, fascism, misogyny, hatred and white supremacy...NONE OF IT...will change, unless and until we make racism, fascism, misogyny, hatred and white supremacy unprofitable to the corporations, businesses and individuals that fund and enable it".

Disney, Coca-Cola, Delta, etc should be punished, but NOT BY THE STATE!

Decent people that care about Democracy should be boycotting them ever-loving fuck out of these companies for bankrolling the Retrumplican Fascists.

That is what those companies should feel pain for.

[ecstatic]

12. Good point. Nt

[alwaysinasnit]

4. All I can say, and am in no way defending Disney, is that I would bet on Disney getting the

last laugh and DeathSantis getting spanked.

[al_liberal]

5. Why would Disney care actually?

If what I’ve read is correct they stand to gain substantially by dropping $1-2 billion debt and another $150 million per year in payments to the district. Not to mention no longer running and maintaining the infrastructure. Sounds a little like the Disney movie about the briar patch.

[former9thward]

13. What you are reading is not correct.

The counties involved will tax Disney for all those things. They are not getting away free of anything.

[snowybirdie]

6. The poor taxpayers

in Orange and Osceola countries will pay a,steep price for the govs. tantrum. He's not hurting Disney much. Just the voters there.

[femmedem]

7. And they're losing their ability to effectively fight it at the ballot box due to gerrymandering.

Voters rally against Gov. DeSantis' redistricting map

"DeSantis' map would also redraw District 10, currently held by Democratic Congresswoman Val Demings in Orlando.

The redrawing would reduce the number of African-American voters in that district.

Many attendees at the rally were Orange County voters who say the governor and Republicans are on a mission to reverse political and civic gains by African-Americans."

More: https://www.wesh.com/article/voters-rally-desantis-florida-redistricting-map/39762048#

Val Demings: another reason DeSantis is retaliating against Disney with no concern for the residents whose taxes will skyrocket. She's running for Senate against Marco Rubio and her husband Jerry is mayor of Orange County.

[tableturner]

8. Florida does NOT have the right to revoke privileges/tax incentives for punishment for speech!

When you wrote the quoted text, you were both right and wrong. You were right that the context matters but were wrong that Florida was within its power and right to revoke the privileges and tax incentives to Disney because they did the revocation as punishment for Disney's public pronouncement opposing the "Don't say gay" bill. There are a huge number of quotes in print and statements on video by Republican officials, including DeSantis, to prove the punishment element.

The use of governmental power to penalize an entity for disagreeing with those in power is in fact unconstitutional. A government cannot take an action that is punishment for free speech even if the action is the revocation of a special arrangement approved by the governor and legislature fifty years ago.

If the GOP legislature and the governor had proposed this in isolation, NOT after and in response to Disney's opposing DeSantis' policy, that would NOT have been an unconstitutional abuse of governmental power. In other words, it would have been legal if the arrangement were revoked for other reasons and done prior to all this uproar.

Quote from your post:

"I understand that the state of Florida is well within its power and right to revoke any privileges and tax incentives it gives to Disney. I do not debate that. The context for doing that is important; The circumstances for doing that are important; the 'why' of it all is important."

[In It to Win It]

10. Admittedly, I did leave that statement open-ended but I didn't mean that the state had the right

to revoke the privileges to punish speech. That's why I said context matters, to imply that the state could not and should not revoke the privileges to punish speech.

I was stating that in a general way. Generally, that is a power of the state, but in this context, that is an abuse of governmental power that I am not okay with.

[tableturner]

11. Good...constitutionality is the key, it needs to be specified.