Posted on 04/23/2022 9:42:18 PM PDT by SeekAndFind
For many years now I have been pointing out that there is a false public perception of the relationship between governments and corporations. In the past the belief has been that government is supposed to keep private business in check while private business is supposed to limit government intrusion through the assertion of property rights. But when it comes to major corporations there is no such game of balance.
In reality, international conglomerates like Disney generally do whatever they please because they are PARTNERS with government.
For whatever reason, certain companies are afforded special treatment by state and federal institutions and what this does is create problems. This is not a free market system, rather, it is socialist and monopolistic. Subsidies and incentives can sometimes be used to encourage business growth, but when they are afforded to only a tiny handful of mega-corporations the result is the opposite; the growth of competition is stifled and small to medium businesses will never be able to compete with the giants that have already garnered government protection.
It’s interesting to me that the political left, which was once supposedly anti-big business, is now suddenly so enamored with corporate oligarchy to the point that they rabidly defend it as long as those companies espouse woke rhetoric. What this confirms is something that conservatives have always known – That leftists don’t have any concrete principles or morals, they only care about winning no matter the cost.
I 2020 I published an article suggesting a potential solution to Big Tech and woke corporate censorship of conservative ideas: That solution would be for conservative state governments to take away the very incentives and subsidies that they often use to entice these businesses into setting up shop within their borders. That is to say, all they have to do is take away the special goodies that these corporations never should have been handed in the first place.
At the time, I thought that no state government would actually have the guts to carry out such a strategy, but things have changed. Corporations like Disney have now crossed the line into the realm of open indoctrination; asserting that they will upend any Florida law that prevent the sexualization and indoctrination of children into the leftist fold. Disney picked a fight; they strutted around as if they owned the state, and now they are paying the price by losing the very subsidies that made them successful.
This in itself is not the overt use of government power as a means to oppress the rights of businesses. These corporations have no right to such subsidies and they are not entitled to special treatment. Taking it away is not a violation of any business’ rights or of private property rights. Subsidies are something that certain corporations have come to expect, and maybe that should change.
In my recent article on Elon Musk’s ongoing plan to buy out the leftist hive mind known as Twitter, I made this argument:
“Musk’s surprising pursuit of Twitter is interesting no matter which way it goes. He could take control and shut the whole thing down, which is what I would suggest given the platform is a cancer on society and rife with government and corporate surveillance. Scattering the blue check cult to the four winds would be one of the best gifts Musk could give the the world right now. They can always complain about everything on other platforms, just not with so much concentrated corporate and government power at their disposal.
They’ll say this is all an attack on free speech, but these people don’t understand what free speech is. They believe that it is free speech if they walk up to people and say “I’m going to destroy you and your way of life.” And then when those people react to stop them, they cry that they are victims and claim that this is a violation of their rights. Where I come from, you don’t make threats against people and then expect them to do nothing about it. The leftists on Twitter and elsewhere are going to learn this lesson soon, one way or another.”
The Cry-Bully tactic used by leftists is ever present and embarrassingly evident in their response to the battle between Disney and the state of Florida. Disney has enjoyed extensive subsidies and special incentives from Florida through their Reedy Creek municipality agreement. Of course, when this deal was signed Disney was not seen as a hostile entity that would seek to supplant Florida’s legislature and voters.
The lies that leftists are using to attack Florida’s anti-grooming bill and the state response to Disney’s woke corporate hostility are bizarrely tone deaf. These people clearly have no understanding how businesses the size of Walt Disney World function and make money and how they integrate into state tax systems. They also appear to be oblivious to the trespasses of their own side, or they are gaslighting as if the woke cult has done nothing wrong and Florida’s reaction is completely unprovoked. The amount of disinformation being spread by leftists on this issue is truly staggering.
If you want a prime example of this I suggest taking a look at THIS ARTICLE from the Florida Politics website as well as the responses from leftists in the comments. The level of delusion is shocking. Here are just some of the lies perpetrated by the left so far in reference to the Reedy Creek situation:
This is pure idiocy. A state governor is “bullying” a massive international conglomerate with its tentacles wrapped around numerous facets of our society including considerable control over the mainstream media? Yeah, I don’t think so. If anything, Disney is the bully on the block that has finally for the first time been punched in the face by a kid he thought he could shake down for lunch money. And now Disney, in typical gaslighting fashion, is pretending to be the victim and the leftists are eating it up.
It was Disney that started this fight by stating they would do everything in their power to undermine the legislature and the majority of voters in Florida and dismantle a law which protects young children from gender identity indoctrination and sexualized lessons which have no place in public schools anyway. Not only that, but Disney has been exposed as a leftist indoctrination machine as they openly admit in Zoom conference calls to injecting gender identity and LGBT propaganda into their content directed specifically at young children.
The leftist strategy basically boils down to this, and it stems from classic Marxist disruption of a society: Keep stabbing at the bear and try to kill him with a thousand cuts, and when the bear decides to bite back, act like you’re a poor victim that needs protection from the bear. Beg some hunters to kill the bear for you, and see who you can con into doing it.
No, it is not. Again, corporations are not entitled to special subsidies that give them monopolistic power. Governments should not give out such subsidies, but if they do, they can certainly take them away any time they want. Disney’s speech has not been impeded by the end of Reedy Creek; now they have to operate on a level playing field along with other businesses. God forbid…
Teachers have no free speech rights inside the classroom. They are employees of the district and work for the parents that pay the taxes that pay their salaries. They do not have the right to teach sexualized lessons or ideological cultism to children that are not their own.
Also, leftists have no concept of what free speech actually means. They are constantly engaged in censorship and cancel culture and argue with an ends-justify-the-means attitude. They like to call it “consequence culture” instead of cancel culture. Now that they are getting a taste of their own medicine, they don’t seem to like it very much and suddenly consider it “authoritarianism.” In other words, their definition of tyranny is when they are not allowed to do whatever they want whenever they please no matter how criminal or immoral.
If there is no intent to sexualize children in public schools, then why are leftists so enraged by the law? If it changes nothing, then why are they against it? I have yet to see a leftist actually answer this question with any logic or reason.
Furthermore, their argument is based on a lie. The facts show that there has been a growing program of gender identity indoctrination in schools including teachers openly admitting online that they are engaged in sex lessons for young students. These teachers even argue that children as young as kindergarten are “sexually aware” and are “already asking questions” about gender and sex. I defy any leftist to show me an example of a young child interested in this nonsense that hasn’t been groomed into it by a teacher or a parent.
Libs Of TikTok has been an excellent source for collecting and showcasing the open admissions of leftist teachers discussing how they indoctrinate children with their ideology. All the account does is show these people speaking in their own words about their own activities. Yet, their Twitter account has come under attack by the media for doing nothing more than letting the teachers speak for themselves.
Some examples of grooming in schools include leftist states like New Jersey, which are adding gender identity and sex lessons into the curriculum for 1st graders and above. There are also numerous online courses and resources published by leftist groups designed to show teachers how to build gender and sex lessons into their lesson plans. Leftists have been attempting to make gender ideology a pillar within the education system by using the Equality Act to adjust discrimination standards. This would essentially make it discriminatory to NOT include gender identity and alternative sex lessons in public school curriculum.
This is happening across the nation and yet leftists continue to claim it is all a “conspiracy theory.”
This meme is popping up often in conjunction with the DeSantis response to Disney’s transgressions. Leftists can’t win the debate on Reedy Creek so they then turn to disinformation on Florida’s discernment on school textbooks.
Math and STEM books should not contain ANY sociological commentary, including critical race theory or gender identity propaganda. They should teach math and science. That is all.
Yes, there is, and Florida just released some examples of the lessons they are finding hidden in new textbooks, which include math problems that “measure racial bias using polynomials,” and using an “Implicit Association Test” to measure racism. Critical Race Theory in school textbooks IS A FACT. There is no debate.
Leftists can deny reality all they want, but the truth does not care about their fantasies.
Uh, no, they won’t fold and DeSantis has already proven this. Reedy Creek is over. Sure, Disney will try to fight this in court but they will fail because no company can argue that they have a legal entitlement to special treatment from a state government, which is what Reedy Creek is.
As far as revenues are concerned, there is zero chance that Disney will be able to relocate their theme park, which is around the same size as the city of San Francisco. The cost would be prohibitive and would destroy the company’s bottom line. Leftists don’t understand logistics and they don’t understand business. They think that Disney has some kind of economic leverage to exploit here, which just goes to show how ignorant they are on how these companies function.
Everything Disney does comes down to cost vs. benefit. Even though they claim to have high ideals rooted in leftist illusions of “equity,” when all is said and done the shareholders of the company are their only concern. To move the park would be pointless because the cost would far exceed any subsidies they might get from another state for many years to come, causing their stock prices to plunge even further. This means they will continue to operate in Florida or they will be forced to shut down completely, which again, would collapse their stock price.
Disney is not the “hand that feeds Florida,” Florida is the hand that feeds Disney. Many people don’t understand that Disney is reliant on park revenues to keep the company afloat, their movies are peripheral to the parks. And, with California going down the tubes as a vacation spot, Florida is where the money is at. Disney’s only option is to stay in Orlando, pay their taxes and remain under the watchful eye of the stage government or they will die as a company. It’s that simple.
At bottom it’s amazing that leftists have chosen this hill to die on. Standing against a bill that prevents indoctrination and sexualization of young children automatically makes them suspect. They claim it’s not happening, which is a provable lie. They claim it’s authoritarian, but can’t produce a logical argument as to how preventing such lessons in public schools violates anyone’s rights. They say that conservatives are bullies for going after Disney, but ignore the fact that Disney started the whole thing by attacking Floridians that support a legal and constitutional bill.
Frankly, these people deserve what they get. There is no reasoning with them and their insanity should be held up as an example of what not to do as a society for generations to come. They should be kept as far away from power as possible because they are dangerous zealots who do not care about facts, science or core principles. They only want to destroy their enemies, and they see us as the enemy. If they can get to us through our kids, then they are fine with that. I feel no empathy for them when they get hit back.
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Essentially only one.
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Funny the libs scream that the rich need to pay their fair share until a Republican takes Disney’s special status away....
You’re right - follow the money. This entire piece reads like a grade school meandering paper: Disney, free speech, Twitter, CRT, economics, logistics….
What if Disney was a drug company? What if it was an oil company? Would the left be decrying it’s loss of special privileges right now?
Hasn’t the left always told us that big corporations need to pay their “fair share?”
If it really is political, shareholders should sue the CEO for choosing politics over business.
When PA started taxing Software consultants with a sales tax under the venerable Tom Ridge. (this was Stopped shortly after) GE negotiated a special consideration that it would only pay based on the net. IE billed amount of $50 and $45 paid to consultant “B” subcontractor. GE would only pay the sales tax on the $5. As far as i know no other company had that option and paid the “sales tax” on the entire $50 for the contractor/subcontractor.
Disney is a predator corporation. Don’t facilitate predatory behavior.
So a state government makes one, who has very progressive views, pay their fair share by ending their special tax status.
And now they are unhappy???
Hypocrisy
I’m okay with picking on pedophiles and child groomers like Disney 🤪
Its funny that the socialists who use government at every opportunity to bash private companies, especially large ones, that THEY dont like
Gun manufacturers, energy industry, others,
Now calls it wrong to do so.
And its actually making it fair, as Florida has dissolved all other special zones like this that were created when Disney’s was.
Become political, and political favors - and thats what this was - a special political favor to Disney, may be revoked.
“What if Disney was a drug company? What if it was an oil company? Would the left be decrying it’s loss of special privileges right now?”
Depends on how much of a leftist globalist, social marxist, morally perverted, money laundering, political donor they are —
Tucker: This Will Cost The Disney Corporation A Ton Of Money.
Can't they see? without the government interfering in their business, Disney is now truly free.
waiting on the cries of how many jobs will be lost. How dare they!!!!!! Disney is far left, and the left hates trickle down economics.
then again, I never met a leftie who was comfortable wearing the shoes they want everybody else to wear. Thats their M.O. rules for thee, but not for me!!
Leftists used to hate the Reedy Creek Improvement District.
They hated letting a corporation govern what is essentially a municipality.
But Disney used to be evil capitalists. Now they’re good, in the leftist eye.
Why? One word: payola.
But Disney is a conspiracy to commit felonies. Better confiscate their assets.
Don’t worry about Disney. They’ll pass that cost onto their customers.
Better confiscate their assets.
That happens to Disney as it can to all of us for non-compliance.
The official list of Florida special districts now has some 1844 entries. Most of them were created by cities and counties with state approval under general provisions of Florida law to finance and administer various governmental services, usually by building improvements such as roads, water and sewer lines, drainage canals, and so on in a particular area. Other special districts were created to provide services like fire and police protection, mosquito control, and parks and local public libraries. A handful of special districts were created before 1968 by a special legislative act -- including Disney's special district. Those tend to have unique powers that otherwise would not be granted today.
The power of special districts to levy taxes and often to issue revenue bonds for improvements means that a developer or local government do not have to bear those costs up front. Instead, the money is borrowed by the special district through revenue bonds and eventually paid back by ad valorem taxes on the purchasers and users of the land after it is developed.
For local governments, special districts created for services like fire and police protection and parks and libraries and such also allow a tax burden for that service to be limited to the area defined by the geographic scope of the special district and to get around ad valorem tax limitations in the Florida constitution. Special district taxes are in addition to the tax limitations applied to cities and counties. Florida property tax payers who look at the details of their bills nowadays will find assessments for the city and county they are in and usually one or more special districts.
Under general law and depending on the terms of the specific ordinance creating them, the governing boards of special districts may be appointed by a developer, elected by the voters in the district, appointed by local elected elected officials, or they may be the elected officials themselves ex officio. Often, Florida city councils and county commissions will gavel through and conduct special district meetings as part of their general sessions.
The Reedy Creek Improvement District was not created under the general law provisions of law and the practice of recent decades but by a lengthy and unusual special legislative act at Disney's urging in 1967. The RCID operates over a territory of forty square miles and spans part of two counties, Orange and Osceola, has a massive budget, and has numerous special powers and exemptions that are not available under general Florida law.
Indeed, the RCID extends even to land owned by those other than Disney. Since the RCID is governed by a board elected by a handful of loyal Disney employees and Disney retirees or their family members who are residents, it is captive to Disney's interests. The RCID can at times be high-handed and demanding of non-Disney property owners who want RCID services and approvals. In effect, the RCID plans are written to favor Disney and its interests.
Even worse, the RCID provides a way for Disney to stiff-arm local government planning processes and avoid paying more of local infrastructure needs. Notably, until Disney became woke, the state's newspapers and good government types frequently criticized the RCID and Disney on that basis.
It should not be thought that Disney pays high wages. Disney's wage rates are notoriously low and contribute to the Orlando area's low wages and relatively large population of working poor. Notably, the Democrats who now dominate local government in Orange County want to impose a regressive one cent local sales tax to pay for road improvements made necessary by the area's growth. Most local politicians would rather lose an arm than consider and discuss the possibility of taxing Disney and other tourist venues more in order to pay for the growth that they have caused.
The new Florida law abolishing the Reedy Creek Improvement District in its current form will not take effect for a little more than a year. No doubt the RCID will be reconstituted or one or more new special districts will be created in its place based on current Florida general law to assume the RCID's planning and taxing powers and accumulated bond debt. I think that Disney mostly fears two things.
First, a successor special district (or districts) will be governed by a board appointed by local elected county commissioners or by the commissioners themselves as the board. That means that instead of being a captive to Disney's interests, the new special district (or districts) will answer to the interests of the local communities near where Disney World.
For example, absent the RCID in its current form, there would no more of Disney using the RCID to block proposals for mass transit stations that would make it easier for Disney guests to leave the property if they like. Disney has done this repeatedly over the years. More broadly, Disney would end up being more answerable to and better integrated into local planning decisions. In essence, Disney would become less powerful.
Second, Disney fears higher tax bills, through higher tax assessments and new special district boundaries, budget, and tax rates on Disney expanding to cover more of local road and infrastructure needs. As it is, Disney presently enjoys relatively low local ad valorem tax assessments.
A modern and reconstituted RCID or a set of daughter special districts would almost certainly tax Disney World to pay for more of the public infrastructure improvements that its presence and growth require. Disney has long shirked paying for that, which puts all other local taxpayers on the hook. In effect, DeSantis and the Florida Republican legislature may be near to ending the free ride on many local infrastructure costs that Disney has enjoyed for decades.
In sum, DeSantis and Republicans in the Florida legislature have struck a blow that is both against a powerful woke corporation AND for good government and greater accountability.
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