Does it bother anyone here that the government is trying to punish a private company because of their political speech?
“Does it bother anyone here that the government is trying to punish a private company because of their political speech?”
Not really. Disney isn’t really a private company when taxpayers are subsidizing its existence enormously. Florida citizens should have a say on the subject.
They are not punishing a private company.
They are removing special benefits that other businesses do not get.
“Does it bother anyone here that the government is trying to punish a private company because of their political speech?”
It bothers me that MANY people on this forum don’t know what “private company” means. Disney is a PUBLIC company. It is owned by investors because it has access to our highly-regulated stock market.
Yes, public and private companies have free speech rights by extension of their owners’ rights. However, a company’s speech should reflect the opinions and voice of its owners (in this case common shareholders). These are not necessarily the board members or employees.
When publicly traded companies engage in political speech representing the view of its executives, they are engaging in in-kind contributions (in some cases), committing criminal acts of malfeasance, and willfully neglecting their fiduciary duties to shareholders. It needs to stop.
Further, in this particular case, taking away a special incentive is not exactly “punishing” them. Why should Disney get special favors from the government that other businesses do not?