DeSantis’ retaliation against Disney hurts Florida, former governors and lawmakers say
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Saying Gov. Ron DeSantis has followed the autocratic examples of governments in Russia and China, a group of mostly Republican former high-level government officials has called the Florida governor’s takeover of Disney World’s governing district “severely damaging to the political, social, and economic fabric of the State.”
DeSantis shoots Florida in the foot. Former governors remark that this is detrimental to Florida. DeSantis doubles down and shoots Florida in the nuts.
The whole Disney fiasco is clearly going to work against DeSantis in the longer run.
It might have given him a short term boost with his right wing base.
But it has shown moderates and independents - who are still very important in major elections - that he has demagogue tendencies. Just like Trump.
Why he ever thought it was a good idea is beyond my comprehension.
Going after one of the biggest employers in your state was a self serving political move and did nothing but harm to Florida. Will you do the same to our country if you're elected?
He is the American version of Viktor Orban, the poster child for soft fascism. It might be worthwhile noting that Hungary would be an impoverished corrupt cesspool with out the EU.
Erdogan in Turku is another example of soft fascism, he’s even more autocratic than Orban is.
What's a ball park figure of the revenue Disney contributes to Florida's economy?
All revenue?
And what's a ball park figure if that revenue was removed from the Floridian coffers?
Disney’s economic impact to central Florida is in the billions, likely even the 10s of billions each year. https://www.nbcnews.com/meet-the-press/data-download/enormous-numbers-desantis-fight-disney-rcna81019
DeSantis’ ‘anti-woke’ bills are costing Florida millions of dollars in business
A slew of new bills signed into law by Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has draped the Sunshine State in controversy, spurring protests, lawsuits and travel advisories warning the state is “openly hostile” toward people of color, immigrants, women and LGBTQ+ community members.
The fallout is starting to spread to a key economic artery for an income-tax-free state heavily reliant upon tourism taxes: Florida’s convention business.
In recent weeks, at least a dozen organizations have announced plans to either cancel or relocate their upcoming conferences scheduled to take place in Florida, making a statement by having their thousands of attendees and millions of dollars flow into other states deemed safer and more welcoming.
DeSantis is not only costing Florida tourist dollars, but also costing Floridians in many other ways.
As a corporate and industry friendly politician, insurance premiums have soared 206% since he became governor and, on average, Florida homeowners pay over $4,200 per year for home insurance (triple the national average of $1,700 according to data from the Insurance Information Institute).
https://www.newsweek.com/florida-insurance-premiums-rose-206-percent-desantis-governor-1812740
Not to mention he is costing Florida taxpayers millions of dollars with his "anti-woke" agenda (i.e. flying migrants out of Florida, lawsuits, etc).
And for what exactly?
For a politician on the national stage and trying to create a national profile while running for president, there is very little discussion about his actual governance.
The statistics of Florida's social and economic well-being reveals that Florida falls short in almost any measure that matters to the lives of its citizens and that Florida is toward the bottom of state rankings which assess the quality of education, health care, and many other areas which are key to a successful society.
https://time.com/6266618/ron-desantis-florida-governance-essay/
Some points taken from the above link...
- An investigation by the Orlando Sentinel revealed the startling fact that 99% of Florida’s companies paid no corporate income tax, abetted by tax-avoidance schemes and state officials who gave a low priority to enforcing tax laws.
- A study by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy found that Florida had the third least-equitable tax system of the 50 states. In the state’s “upside-down” tax structure, the poorest 20% of Florida families paid 12.7% of their income in taxes, while the families whose income was in the top 4% paid 4.5%, and the top 1% paid 2.3%, according to the study.
- The Commonwealth Fund, a private foundation that studies health-care systems globally, found in its 2022 “scorecard” that Florida had the 16th worst health care among the 50 states. It’s no wonder that Florida ranks below the northern blue states in life expectancy and rates of cancer death, diabetes, fatal overdoses, teen birth rates, and infant mortality.
- Because of DeSantis’s obstinacy, Florida is one of 10 states that have refused to expand Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act, an act of political spite that has cost those states billions in federal health care dollars and cost thousands of people their lives. More than 12% of Floridians are without medical insurance, a worse record than all but four other states.
- Despite having the country’s highest percentage of retirees, Florida has the worst long-term care among the 50 states, according to the American Association of Retired Persons.
- Public schools fare no better than health care in DeSantis’s Florida. Not only did Florida rank 49th in the country for average teacher pay in 2020, but the Education Law Center, a non-profit advocacy group based in New Jersey, found in a 2021 report that the state had the seventh-lowest per-pupil funding in the country. Education Week, which ranks states public school annually, looking beyond mere test scores, placed Florida 23rd in its 2021 report.
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