• Home
  • Opinion
  • Quizzes
  • Redistricting
  • Sections
  • About Us
  • Voting
  • Independent Voter News
  • Campaign Finance
  • Civic Ed
  • Directory
  • Election Dissection
  • Events
  • Fact Check
  • Glossary
  • News
  • Analysis
  • Subscriptions
  • Log in
Leveraging Our Differences
  • news & opinion
    • Big Picture
      • Civic Ed
      • Ethics
      • Leadership
      • Leveraging big ideas
      • Media
    • Business & Democracy
      • Corporate Responsibility
      • Impact Investment
      • Innovation & Incubation
      • Small Businesses
      • Stakeholder Capitalism
    • Elections
      • Campaign Finance
      • Independent Voter News
      • Redistricting
      • Voting
    • Government
      • Balance of Power
      • Budgeting
      • Congress
      • Judicial
      • Local
      • State
      • White House
    • Justice
      • Accountability
      • Anti-corruption
      • Budget equity
    • Columns
      • Beyond Right and Left
      • Civic Soul
      • Congress at a Crossroads
      • Cross-Partisan Visions
      • Democracy Pie
      • Our Freedom
  • Pop Culture
      • American Heroes
      • Ask Joe
      • Celebrity News
      • Comedy
      • Dance, Theatre & Film
      • Diversity, Inclusion & Belonging
      • Faithful & Mindful Living
      • Music, Poetry & Arts
      • Sports
      • Technology
      • Your Take
      • American Heroes
      • Ask Joe
      • Celebrity News
      • Comedy
      • Dance, Theatre & Film
      • Diversity, Inclusion & Belonging
      • Faithful & Mindful Living
      • Music, Poetry & Arts
      • Sports
      • Technology
      • Your Take
  • events
  • About
      • Mission
      • Advisory Board
      • Staff
      • Contact Us
Sign Up
  1. Home>
  2. your take>

Your Take: DeSantis and Disney World

Our Staff
May 06, 2022
Your Take: DeSantis and Disney World

Recently, Gov. Ron DeSantis and the Florida Legislature voted to revoke Disney World’s special tax district. The move was made in response to Disney’s criticism of Florida’s controversial education bill limiting the discussion of sex in schools.

We asked our readers:

Can it be appropriate for a state government to punish a corporation that is critical of its agenda? Should Disney World have received special treatment in the first place?

While many people questioned whether an individual business should get special treatment, most objected to what they viewed as retaliatory tactics by the government.


Your responses, edited for clarity and length:

I would say that an initial special tax treatment/district control by the state for a private corporation is warranted if approved by the state's and muncipality's voters. It should probably be limited and not permanent, to sunset after several years. Disney should not receive special treatment permanently as that sounds anti-competitive. A private corporation must be mindful of the political preferences of the community in which it resides and does business. Thus it must weigh the interests of its more narrow stakeholders against the larger population that sets political priorities. Disney foolishly ignored this caveat that left itself vulnerable to political entrepreneurship by Gov. DeSantis. -Michael Harrington

Sign up for The Fulcrum newsletter

Our government is supposed to enact policies that serve the public good, protect its citizens and commit to rule of law. What DeSantis does is violate these guidelines and acts more in the tradition of an authoritarian ruler. Punishment of those who do not “toe the line” is not in the interest of democracy. -Rhoda Schermer

This is wrong on so many levels. Bad governance, bad judgment, bad faith with Disney, bad faith with voters. In addition it achieves nothing except chaos. -Ray Curtis

I don't agree with what DeSantis has done. It is retaliation for a private company’s opinion. Republicans are supposed to be the business party. There are many more of these tax deals throughout Florida, The Villages for example. If Florida decides to extend this type of program I don't see a problem with it. -Cristy Heckller

Whether or not Disney World’s special treatment was a good idea is not the issue. Rather, what is the motivation behind the Florida Legislature’s vote to revoke it? If the motivation is to punish The Walt Disney Company for expressing its opinion about Florida’s education bill, then the vote is a violation of Disney’s speech rights as expressed in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission. But more worrisome is the adoption of the thuggish practices that dictatorships use to intimidate citizens and companies. The Florida vote is exactly the type of actions that Chavez took in Venezuela, Ortega in Nicaragua, Orban in Hungary, Erdogan in Turkey, Mugabe in Zimbabwe. De Santis is in great company. -Felix Bergel

Disney vs. DeSantis is a ridiculous weaponization of the culture wars that seem to be all the rage in Republican circles, at least here in Florida. In 13 months, it may well cost Florida taxpayers millions of dollars, jeopardize the retirement and health care benefits of Disney employees, and seriously affect employment in at least two Florida counties. To be clear, I am categorically against state and/or local governments giving tax breaks to individual businesses. Not even to businesses as important to local economies as Disney has been. But I am outraged over the idea that a governor — or any other government official — can use the power of his office expressly to harm a company for disagreeing with him. Do we no longer recognize free speech rights, or is that reserved only for speech we agree with? We seem to be using the power of incumbency to punish people who disagree with our political positions. Two years ago I thought this was limited to the former president and perhaps a few others. Now it seems to be swallowing both parties. I’m not sure we can recover from this, and I’m frightened. -Kathleen Finderson

From Your Site Articles
  • What is Disney World's 'special district'? - The Fulcrum ›
  • Your take: Reconciliation and the Inflation Reduction Act - The Fulcrum ›
  • Your Take: Increasing voter turnout - The Fulcrum ›
  • Your Take: Increasing voter turnout - The Fulcrum ›
  • Your Take: Polarized thinking - The Fulcrum ›
  • Your Take: Combating the AHF - The Fulcrum ›
  • Ron DeSantis and political theatre - The Fulcrum ›
Related Articles Around the Web
  • Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis's attack on Disney is obviously ... ›
  • DeSantis takes on Disney in latest battle in the Republican culture ... ›
  • Ron DeSantis Is Threatening Disney With Regulations Because It ... ›
  • Ron DeSantis signals support for stripping Disney of special self ... ›
your take

Join an Upcoming Event

Democracy Happy Hour

Fix Democracy First
Sep 20, 2023 at 5:00 pm PDT
Read More

Conversation Collective hosted by

Citizen Discourse
Sep 21, 2023 at 11:00 am CDT
Read More

The Opportunity Gap Conversation

Living Room Conversations
Sep 21, 2023 at 2:00 pm MDT
Read More

Democratize America

Learning Life
Sep 21, 2023 at 5:30 pm EDT
Read More

Hour of Outreach – Letter Writing!

Equal Vote
Sep 25, 2023 at 8:00 pm PDT
Read More

NH United in Hopkinton

The People
Sep 26, 2023 at 4:00 pm EDT
Read More
View All Events

Want to write
for The Fulcrum?

If you have something to say about ways to protect or repair our American democracy, we want to hear from you.

Submit
Get some Leverage Sign up for The Fulcrum Newsletter
Confirm that you are not a bot.
×
Follow

Support Democracy Journalism; Join The Fulcrum

The Fulcrum daily platform is where insiders and outsiders to politics are informed, meet, talk, and act to repair our democracy and make it live and work in our everyday lives. Now more than ever our democracy needs a trustworthy outlet

Contribute
Contributors

To advance racial equity, policy makers must move away from the "Black and Brown" discourse

Julio A. Alicea

Policymakers must address worsening civil unrest post Roe

Sarah K. Burke

Video: How to salvage U.S. democracy from the "tyranny of the minority"

Our Staff

What "Progress" should look like, and what we get wrong

Damien De Pyle

The long kiss goodnight: Nancy Pelosi and the protracted decay of public office

Kevin Frazier

Demanding corporate responsibility for food system challenges

C.Anne Long
latest News

The show must go on

Amy Lockard
15h

Constitution Day conversation with Jamie Raskin: Preserving democracy today and tomorrow

Rick LaRue
Jamie Raskin
16h

Meet the Faces of Democracy: Stephen Richer

Michael Beckel
Ariana Rojas
20 September

The alchemy of laughter

Pedro Silva
20 September

Work/family balance should be a top tier policy area

Dave Anderson
20 September

Learning to make “the right call” in the right moments

Lisa Kay Solomon
19 September
Videos
Video: Expert baffled by Trump contradicting legal team

Video: Expert baffled by Trump contradicting legal team

Our Staff
Video: Do white leaders hinder black aspirations?

Video: Do white leaders hinder black aspirations?

Our Staff
Video: How to prepare for student loan repayments returning

Video: How to prepare for student loan repayments returning

Our Staff
Video: The history of Labor Day

Video: The history of Labor Day

Our Staff
Video: Trump allies begin to flip as prosecutions move forward

Video: Trump allies begin to flip as prosecutions move forward

Our Staff
Video Rewind: Trans-partisan practices and the "superpower of respect"

Video Rewind: Trans-partisan practices and the "superpower of respect"

Our Staff
Podcasts

Podcast: How states hold fair elections

Our Staff
14 September

Podcast: The MAGA Bubble, Bidenonmics and Playing the Victim

Debilyn Molineaux
David Riordan
12 September

Podcast: Defending the founding principles of our government

Our Staff
07 September

Podcast: The continuing effects of summer heat and student loan repayments

Our Staff
05 September
Recommended
The show must go on

The show must go on

Big Picture
To advance racial equity, policy makers must move away from the "Black and Brown" discourse

To advance racial equity, policy makers must move away from the "Black and Brown" discourse

Big Picture
Constitution Day conversation with Jamie Raskin: Preserving democracy today and tomorrow

Constitution Day conversation with Jamie Raskin: Preserving democracy today and tomorrow

Big Picture
Meet the Faces of Democracy: Stephen Richer

Meet the Faces of Democracy: Stephen Richer

State
The alchemy of laughter

The alchemy of laughter

Comedy
Work/family balance should be a top tier policy area

Work/family balance should be a top tier policy area

Contributors