Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis picked a fight with Walt Disney because it fit his political narrative.
As a candidate for the Republican nomination for president, DeSantis wants to present an image as a right-wing warrior battling the woke mob on the left. That means opposing any company that makes diversity a priority.
DeSantis targeted Walt Disney DIS, a company with deep financial ties to his state, not because it's more woke than brands like Starbucks and Target, which have faced right-wing boycotts. Florida's governor made the Mouse House his chief target because former Chief Executive Bob Chapek spoke out about his so-called Don't Say Gay legislation.
Never mind that Chapek likely spoke up about the legislation only to appease employees who were angry that he hadn't. That was enough to get DeSantis to take on one of the largest drivers of his state's economy.
The governor went after Disney hard, taking over the Reedy Creek Improvement District, the special district governing the land on which Disney World sits.
DeSantis has said that he was just trying to level the playing field and take away Disney's special advantages. That approach ignores the fact that Florida has thousands of other special districts, including one just created for Comcast's CMCSA Universal Studios.
Disney CEO Bob Iger has made clear that his company gets no benefits that aren't offered to other Florida businesses. He has also threatened to divert some of his company's capital spending away from Florida.
Now, Disney has hired Oxford Economics, a for-profit venture from Oxford University’s business college, to conduct a "comprehensive economic analysis to quantify the significant contribution of Disney’s operations in Florida during fiscal year 2022."
That's a bold play designed to show DeSantis exactly how Disney World affects his state.
Disney drives Florida's economy
Multiple lawsuits have been filed to attempt to adjudicate the Reedy Creek takeover. Disney has maintained that DeSantis has targeted the company for political reasons while the governor continued to say that he's simply trying to take away special benefits from the company.
The Oxford Economics study shows that Disney has a huge economic impact in Florida that goes well beyond its theme parks.
"In FY22 alone, Disney generated $40.3 billion in statewide economic activity, either directly,or indirectly through its supply chain and the spending of employees," according to the report.
Disney also generated $3.1 billion in state and local taxes in 2022, and the data show that company "sustained" 263,000 Florida jobs. That includes Florida residents directly employed through the company as well as jobs supported by visitor spending off-property and other indirect impacts.
"To put this in perspective, the unemployment rate in Florida was 3% in September 2023. Based on the current size of the state’s labor force, the unemployment rate would be 5.4% without Disney-supported jobs," the company said. "For every direct job on-site at Disney, an additional 1.7 jobs are supported across Florida."
Disney makes a not-so-subtle point on the RCID
DeSantis stripped Disney of its special district and put his political lackeys in charge of the new Central Florida Tourism District. Disney clearly sees that effort as politically motivated, not an attempt by the governor to level the playing field or take away any special treatment afforded to Disney.
"The Florida State Legislature established this special district, formerly known as the Reedy Creek Improvement District, in 1967 to help provide services, including power, water, roads and fire protection for the 47-square miles of Walt Disney World Resort," the company said in a news release.
That's still happening under the new board, albeit without the company having a say where it used to have control.
"This district was a cost-effective mechanism throughout its history in ensuring the tax burden for these services did not fall on Orange and Osceola County residents. It allowed Disney to efficiently invest tens of billions of dollars in Florida over the past several decades by maintaining the highest development and service standards on Disney property," the company added.
Walt Disney recently shared plans to double the investment in its theme parks to $60 billion over the next decade. How much of that money goes to Florida remains an open question that DeSantis's actions will have a role in deciding.
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