Desantis seeks to punish Disney for disagreeing with him

https://www.wsj.com/articles/gavin-...-price-11650829965?mod=hp_opin_pos_2#cxrecs_s

Gavin Newsom’s Disney Double Talk
The California Governor isn’t credible as a critic of Florida policies.
By The Editorial Board
April 24, 2022 6:31 pm ET

Gov. Gavin Newsom must still be smarting from Walt Disney Co. ’s announcement last summer that it will move 2,000 California jobs to Florida, citing the Sunshine State’s “business-friendly climate.” See his recent tweets reveling in Florida’s political brawl with Disney.

After Florida Republicans revoked a special-tax district that essentially let Disney World run its own private government, Mr. Newsom sniped: “THIS is what ‘business friendly’ means? We protect free speech in California. We help our businesses grow, thrive, and invent the future.” He later added: “But go ahead and keep telling us about ‘fiscal responsibility’ & your ‘business-friendly climate.’”

So why are so many companies— Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Oracle, Palantir, Charles Schwab, Toyota, to name a few—moving their headquarters and jobs out of California? And why is California still short 296,000 jobs from pre-pandemic levels while Florida has added 156,000? And why did California lose 261,902 people between 2020 and 2021 while Florida gained 211,196?

Disney noted a couple reasons last year in announcing the job relocation: Florida’s lack of a state income tax and much lower cost-of-living thanks to less heavy-handed government. Consider Mr. Newsom’s arbitrary, extended Covid-19 lockdowns. Florida let Disney World reopen in July 2020. Mr. Newsom didn’t allow Disneyland do so until late April 2021.

Former Disney CEO Robert Iger resigned from Mr. Newsom’s Potemkin Covid economic task force amid tensions between the state and company over the shutdown. California Democrats are only friendly to businesses they like—e.g., renewable energy and plaintiff law firms.

Mr. Newsom accuses Florida Republicans of retaliating against Disney after CEO Bob Chapek criticized their bill that limits K-third grade instruction in gender identity or sexual orientation in a manner that is not age-appropriate. No doubt Republicans didn’t like Mr. Chapek’s public attack on the bill as a “challenge to basic human rights.” But as a matter of free-market principles, it’s hard to justify Florida’s regulatory favoritism for Disney World, as Gov. Ron DeSantis noted.

As for free speech, Florida isn’t saying Disney can’t lobby all it wants. And Mr. Newsom is one to talk. The Supreme Court last year struck down a California requirement that private charities fundraising in the state disclose their donors, crediting claims by nonprofits that it could lead to political harassment and reprisal. Recall how progressives targeted donors to the state’s 2008 ballot measure that banned same-sex marriage.

One reason CEOs rarely criticize progressive governance is they don’t want to become targets of the left. Jennifer Sey has said she was forced to resign as Levi Strauss president after she criticized school closures. The fact that executives feel freer to criticize Republicans than Democrats speaks volumes about who is friendlier to business and free speech.
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it's not about the tic tacs

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One of then mantra of Conservatism is that government shouldn't be playing favoritism in private companies, shouldn't be picking winners and losers. That is one reason why I didn't really agree with allowing Disney to have this much power in the first place. That said taking away these benefits from Disney while still leaving several other companies including The Villages, is negative favoritism and government interference in the market place.

Another example that the party of small government is anything but.

 

None of this argues that it isn't case of infringing on freedom of speech in Florida.

In fact the article adds strength to the claim. If Newsome wasn't allowed to have charities publish names of donors then DeSantis' move goes far beyond that.

Publishing donors isn't deplatforming anyone or claiming it is illegal to say anything. Yet the courts ruled against that.

Florida is actually a case of government seeking to punish someone for speaking against policy.

This article just talks about Newsome being guilty of hypocrisy.

DeSantis' move directly is meant to dissuade and prevent free speech.

For the record, I'm in favor of limiting many corporate tax breaks. I'm against Citizens United.

But I'm more against impeding free speech.

 

Is that different than usual? Yes
How is that grooming and why is that bad?

But I'm starting to see the real problem the right has is that people aren't being negative, disdainful, and unaccepting of those who feel differently.

For some reason, it really bothers them that society is moving towards inclusion.

 

@Space Ghost owning all these suckers on this thread
Hannah Barbara > Woke Disney

I stand with the smart people and not the dummies

 

Their entire platform is hatred and division.

It is one of me-first greed.

DD

 

Not wise to get in a fight with Disney. Arguably the most beloved and popular brand in the world. DeSantis is a flash in the pan just looking to score off the culture wars. Disney will still be around long after he and this big government GOP policies are dust.

 

1. Corporate tax rate is high. It's so high that California is still operating on budget surpluses despite heavy handedness to support healthcare care among uninsured and elderly, social assistance programs poor Texans and Floridians dream about during their hot muggy summers. Despite some companies relocating, the 20 billion dollar +++ budget surpluses are still there. They prob even lost a billion from covid relief fraud. Oops, still not bankrupt.
2. Wages and cost of living are high. California's minimum wage is $14/hour and will likely be 15 bucks soon and it's still not enough to get by. Florida's? $10 dollars an hour. That generous covid relief debacle also factors in why some people aren't going back to Essential Labor soon soon soon.
3. Wages and cost of living are high. If you want to move to a backwater swamp and go toe to toes with Florida man, that's your American dream. The more important thing is that housing is ridiculously expensive. A Calfornian selling their home could become a Plantation Nobile in Jacksonville. There are good multimillion beachfront properties in Florida, but this article is not comparing apples to apples. Maybe apples to possum? A favorite Floridian past time I hear is debating which one is dead or not.

Every year, WSJ and other like minded pubs publish hopes and fake libertarian dreams (end oppressive-business-killing-corporate taxation NAO!!) of California being a disaster waiting to implode on itself, and every year, Californians are wondering, when will enough of those people leave to get the house they want?

Maybe never. WSJ words might make some sense to their partisans, but it hasn't passed the smell test yet.

P.S. Bravo to the WSJ for leaving out heavy corporate taxes as a con against California. They probably don't want to get the word out that companies can survive and will even pay to be in that environment...with the upside of expensive social benefit programs existing for low wage citizens. Gotta rally the (high brow?) masses who can copy and paste.

 

@Sweet Lou 4 2
Disney stock better not drop down too low

Elon could buy it

hahahahahahahahaahahahajshahahahahshshshshshshshshhshshshshhshshshshshsaahahaha

 

Only reason it makes them uncomfortable is because it's a boy. If it were a girl the exact same age he doesn't even make that tweet. 100% doesn't make that tweet. We've had child beauty pagents forever now and girls can be as young as TODDLERS.

They usually happen in the deep south too, probably from the same group calling people pedo's and groomers all while dressing up 8 year old girls to be attractive.

If there was any consistency here these people would be going after child beauty pagents harder than anything else...but they're not because it's not about protecting children, not really.

It's just like if you were honestly against abortion then you'd be a huge advocate for contraception...but that's not how it works. The pro-life movement is all about religious purity and controlling women and take away their sexual freedom while this is all about punishing people for not following their religious book.

 

One of the strangest parts of american conservatism is that somewhere along the line, the belief that corporations, something that exists only in statute, should somehow have rights. That it comes from a country that based on its rights on "natural" ones, something a corporation can never have, made it only weirder.

Corporations aren't people, every facet of their existence is based on some law the government wrote, *every single one*, if the government passed a law repealing all the various corporations acts, they would simply cease to exist, all of them, at once.

 

I get the princesses thing could be seen as grooming... If you really really want to see something that didn't necessarily exist.

I still remember being creeped out when that pretty little white girl disappeared a decade ago and everyone learned of the creepy world her parents involved her with child beauty pageants. That **** should be banned if we all want to protect children from being exploited and objectified.

There really is no consistency. Just a smegma of southern pride and shame for old traditions that don't look that great when thrown into the light.

 

The irony of the biggest trump (and now desantis) supporter questioning anyone's (or in this case, any company's) "moral compass"...

 

Only anti-gay bigots think standing for gay rights makes you a pedophile.

 

Oligarchs can buy up the country if they want, but Disney's stock won't go down for speaker out against anti-gay hate and bigotry.

 

Seen through the eyes of bigots and gay bashers.