The Governor of Florida is playing a dangerous game, and he was just given a stern warning about what it might cost him and his state by the Disney CEO.
Disney CEO Bob Iger laid out the risk of alienating his company, not only a legal powerhouse but a massive corporation that provides employment to tens of thousands directly and brings tourism dollars into the state from around the world.
He suggested that if DeSantis doesn’t want his company “to invest more, employ more people, and pay more taxes,” Disney also has the option to stop doing those things to the tune of a $17 billion spending plan that could be placed on hold.
Meanwhile, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R) keeps his retaliation plans rolling by hiring allies onto the public dole at top dollar to Disney to bloat their tax bills. Local tv reports that the GOP governor’s new overseer for Disney World has a peculiar view of his job, one that supports the massive company’s civil rights litigation strategy.
That’s why the Disney CEO is warning he could be securing his reputation for destroying a business relationship that has been lucrative for the Sunshine State. Newsweek reports:
“He also pointed out that Disney employs over 75,000 people in Florida, and the parks attract tens of millions of tourists. Iger said that Disney is the largest taxpayer in Central Florida, paying “‘$1.1 billion in state and local taxes last year alone.'”
Ron DeSantis is trying to secure his reputation as someone fighting for right-wing values, including anti-LGBTQ discrimination, by using his governmental power to lash out at a major corporation as retaliation for its CEOs exercising free speech rights to criticize legislation.
The right-wing governor’s attacks on Disney have already landed him in a lawsuit, costing the state’s taxpayers millions in legal costs, and his efforts to take control of the company’s decisions by appointing his own Board of Supervisors are also costing.
His new board just hired a DeSantis-approved Administrator with a hefty $400,000 annual salary but kept the former holder of that position on at full salary as an ‘advisor.’ Both men’s contracts require strict fealty to the DeSantis-appointed board.
It’s also a 51% increase in administrative costs above the district’s 2023 management budget.
The Central Florida Tourism Oversight District’s new administrator, Glen Gilzean, isn’t exactly dispelling that impression.
In fact, while he’s named some priorities, including affordable housing for Disney employees, he “maintained he believes his job is to punish Disney,” according to Wesh2 News.
DeSantis has appointed his ally Gilzean to multiple positions, including the Florida Commission on Ethics.
Ironic.
As an avid supporter of the Governor, Gilzean says he’s planning a regional fiscal impact study that could result in higher costs to Disney.
