News Reedy Creek Improvement District and the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District

[Sir_Cliff]

It's a wink-and-a-nod situation.

The Bud Light constituency doesn't want him to be a "more temperate version" of his rival, they want him to be as combative as possible. Pettiness and amateurism are credentials to those voters. If they wanted temperate, we'd be in the second term of the Rubio administration.

I thought his big selling point was that he was supposed to have been the pro-business, open-up-Florida governor versus the big government Democrats. This muddies the water on that front, making him seem like an ideological warrior first who will use the state to go after private enterprise if they disagree with him.

All he's left with, then, is being a knock-off version of a far more effective troll.

Meanwhile, behind closed doors, he'll intimate to the donor class that he doesn't actually believe any of this, that he's capable of pivoting to the center and being an "electable" candidate in the general election, and that all of this culture war crap is a ruse to rile up the red hat crowd.

The problem with this is that he is actually inflicting grief on a private company that is one of the big economic motors of his state. To go behind closed doors and wink at pro-business donors that he's actually on their side becomes less convincing when your actions show that you will go after their investments if it suits your political interests.

 

[Touchdown]

I really think this is DeSantis Howard Dean moment. Constantly going after Disney and failing is losing him the swing voters, without approval of swing voters he’s no different from the other Florida Candidate who also happens to be more popular with the base. I’m still not seeing anything actionable by Disney though, have to wait until the legislature or board do something.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

Did you read the article I posted in response to one of your comments? It explains in very helpful detail exactly what was done in creating a special district and why it was done.

I have. Pages 202 and 203 are exactly what I'm talking about and it's what I don't like.

We're just quibbling over vocabulary. I don't care if you call it "welfare" or "benefits" or "perks" or "less red tape" or whatever term you want to use. The paper you shared uses the word "control." Whatever term we use, it was a sweetheart deal and a legislative carve-out and I don't like such arrangements as a matter of principle.

 

[mikejs78]

I have. Pages 202 and 203 are exactly what I'm talking about and it's what I don't like.

We're just quibbling over vocabulary. I don't care if you call it "welfare" or "benefits" or "perks" or "less red tape" or whatever term you want to use. The paper you shared uses the word "control." Whatever term we use, it was a sweetheart deal and a legislative carve-out and I don't like such arrangements as a matter of principle.

So if you were a resident of Orange County, you would rather pay taxes on all Disney's roads and infrastructure?

 

[mikejs78]

Meanwhile, behind closed doors, he'll intimate to the donor class that he doesn't actually believe any of this, that he's capable of pivoting to the center and being an "electable" candidate in the general election, and that all of this culture war crap is a ruse to rile up the red hat crowd.

Apparently he's losing GOP donors because he's  not doing this.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

I thought his big selling point was that he was supposed to have been the pro-business, open-up-Florida governor versus the big government Democrats.

I imagine that would have been the strategy if the former Present hadn't decided to run again.

This muddies the water on that front, making him seem like an ideological warrior first who will use the state to go after private enterprise if they disagree with him.

All he's left with, then, is being a knock-off version of a far more effective troll.

The message will be "I know you (base voters) love that guy, but let's be honest... he can't possibly win... I'm just like him but I can actually win."

The problem with this is that he is actually inflicting grief on a private company that is one of the big economic motors of his state. To go behind closed doors and wink at pro-business donors that he's actually on their side becomes less convincing when your actions show that you will go after their investments if it suits your political interests.

Totally agree. I hold the following, seemingly-contradictory positions at the same time:

1. I don't like legislative carve-outs, sweetheart deals, special districts, or anything of that nature.
2. I don't like that this is being done for political revenge.
3. I think it's smart politics.

 

[flynnibus]

None of that has jack all to do with discussions of gender identity in elementary school classrooms.

Neither does hurricane relief either... but Disney gets into that too.

Know why? They are are the employer of more than 70 thousand employees in Florida and a community anchor and more than just a company shipping product.... They are a nexus of literally thousands of Floridians and people working in Florida who want Disney to be more than just a paycheck.

 

[Lilofan]

So if you were a resident of Orange County, you would rather pay taxes on all Disney's roads and infrastructure?

I think Central FL ( toll happy ) loves getting money from locals and tourists
FL turnpike, 417 greenway, 528 Bee Line Expressway , Osceola Parkway , could be other roads ,

 

[CaptainAmerica]

So if you were a resident of Orange County, you would rather pay taxes on all Disney's roads and infrastructure?

I actually strongly object to the very idea of County government in the first place. I favor municipal control of most local functions except in extremely rural areas where the population isn't dense enough to support robust municipal government. That's what we do in New England, and it's why we have the best public schools in the country.

 

[mikejs78]

I think it's smart politics

It's poor politics. The more he does and the more he doubles down on the culture war stuff, the harder it is to pivot in the general.

 

[thomas998]

What exactly should Disney give up? The ability to add theme park facilities to theme parks? And what does that fix? Why shouldn’t the state stop?

The state shouldn't stop because right now you have one company that operates under a special setup which gives it an advantage over the other companies. If I were Universal or Seaworld I would hate to see Florida back off and allow Disney to maintain their advantage. Would you like it if the state you lived in gave your neighbor a lower tax rate for life?

 

[flynnibus]

That's what we do in New England, and it's why we have the best public schools in the country.

Do those schools teach you that schools are not managed by county or city level governments everywhere in the country? They should...

 

[CaptainAmerica]

It's poor politics. The more he does and the more he doubles down on the culture war stuff, the harder it is to pivot in the general.

We'll see. I think the Biden-Youngkin voters show otherwise.

 

[mikejs78]

The state shouldn't stop because right now you have one company that operates under a special setup which gives it an advantage over the other companies. If I were Universal or Seaworld I would hate to see Florida back off and allow Disney to maintain their advantage. Would you like it if the state you lived in gave your neighbor a lower tax rate for life?

As has been pointed out repeatedly, Disney pays more in taxes than Universal and Sea World. Try again.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

Do those schools teach you that schools are not managed by county or city level governments everywhere in the country? They should...

Is/ought. I was asked what I think SHOULD be, not a description of what IS.

 

[mikejs78]

We'll see. I think the Biden-Youngkin voters show otherwise.

That was primarily driven by people who were done with COVID.

 

[DCBaker]

No direct comments from Disney so far, but it seems Disney has sent few bits of information to outlets for context to some of the statements made today. This is from a thread, so there are 2 Tweets in each box below.

 

[peter11435]

The state shouldn't stop because right now you have one company that operates under a special setup which gives it an advantage over the other companies. If I were Universal or Seaworld I would hate to see Florida back off and allow Disney to maintain their advantage. Would you like it if the state you lived in gave your neighbor a lower tax rate for life?

Disney pays higher taxes than universal or sea world precisely because of RCID.

 

[Lilofan]

No direct comments from Disney so far, but it seems Disney has sent few bits of information to outlets for context to some of the statements made today. This is from a thread, so there are 2 Tweets in each box below.

Would the WDW affordable housing plan be located near the Golden Oak homes price ranging from $5M to $30M?. Those homeowners may want a word about that plan.

 

[Chi84]

I have. Pages 202 and 203 are exactly what I'm talking about and it's what I don't like.

We're just quibbling over vocabulary. I don't care if you call it "welfare" or "benefits" or "perks" or "less red tape" or whatever term you want to use. The paper you shared uses the word "control." Whatever term we use, it was a sweetheart deal and a legislative carve-out and I don't like such arrangements as a matter of principle.

But Disney was planning to build a huge entertainment complex that required infrastructure local governments couldn’t handle or pay for with taxes. This deal allowed Disney to build there, and to build something significant enough to make the area a major tourist draw.

As the article points out, these deals were made to entice Disney to choose Florida. It could have gone elsewhere or built something much smaller.

Disney was proposing new building techniques, water management technologies, etc. that the counties didn’t have the personnel or financial resources to handle. Of course, they would need “control,” but not with the negative connotation you’re using. Without RCID the project wouldn’t have happened or would have been much smaller in scope.