21 Comments
Apr 24, 2022Liked by Chris Bray

Mr. Bray, you seem to be attempting to introduce facts into a discussion that should rightfully remain in the world of fantasy. Your use of 4th grade google searches and 6th grade arithmetic to make your point is way out of line. The current narrative du jour explicitly states that 'journalists' are NOT required to perform meaningful research, or subject their output to reality checks. And math, as everyone is well aware, is raaaacist. You should be ashamed of yourself.

Expand full comment

Math isn't the only thing that's racist here. As we all know, norms of logic are eurocentric white supremacy. Furthermore, any attack on the profits and privileges of a multibillion dollar media oligopoly is a direct assault on people of color and the LGBTQ community, and basically amounts to genocide against trans youth.

Expand full comment

Beautiful 😂

Expand full comment

Basically it's just like the rest of the U.S. for the last 40+ years. It's not the numbers and the facts. It's the way it is presented. Too much sex-ed in school and not enough R&R& Arithmetic. Soon all of us old fogies will be gone, - then this can all turn to the willing commies.

Expand full comment

Disney will have to fire all their male employees and hire only women to make up for the taxes they will have to pay to local governments. Women always do the same work for less money so it might balance out. Maybe some of the men can transition and take a pay cut?

Expand full comment

Ah, yes, mushrooms. "Keep 'em in the dark and feed 'em bullshit." Good to know which ones are yummy, which ones introduce you to the magic "self-transforming machine elves", and which ones just cause renal failure. So, yeah, a lot like journalists! Keen insight.

Expand full comment
Apr 24, 2022Liked by Chris Bray

"This local taxpayers will suffer bullshit is corporate talking points aimed at a political end, recycled mindlessly by absolute fucking idiots."

Couldn't have said it better myself! They take us for fools when it is they that are the fools!

Expand full comment

Always fun to see real journalism with publicly available info!

There's an added factor: Libertarians often argue against taxation because it moves money into government that would otherwise circulate within the city. The argument may be halfway valid for residential property tax, but all of Disney's tax is coming from tourists. There's no circularity, just a choice between Disney's profit and the city's profit.

Expand full comment

Hahajahahahaha … that’s me, a FL resident, laughing all the way to the bank.💯🌴💯

Expand full comment

I've been pointing out to conservatives that Disney World had about the closest thing to allodial property ownership anywhere in the country, and they're cheering DeSantis's abrogation of that contract. Short term, "hooray for our side", thinking, when in a saner world, everyone should enjoy self-governance and freedom from property taxes.

Expand full comment

Wow, look at all these rich corporations who don't have to pay taxes or (generally speaking) follow laws! They get to tell politicians what the rules are! Gosh, we should all be so lucky! Never mind the billionaires, let's fantasize about enjoying all the really special "rights" that our corporate citizens have. Corporations are people, my friend.

Cough, cough... Pass me that hookah again dude, I think my buzz is starting to get harsh.

Expand full comment

Remember, corporations don’t pay taxes, they only collect them from people: employees, shareholders and customers. Envy sells a certain narrative though and helps elites hide the true tax burden.

Expand full comment

It's my understanding that the special arrangement will be sunsetting next year anyway and the Florida legislature opted not to renew, rather than to rescind. Disney can re-apply.

If we all enjoyed the same advantages that Disney is enjoying, I would welcome its alloidial property ownership, but it is a rather unique arrangement that most of us would be hard pressed to obtain. In a saner world, this arrangement wouldn't be special, it would be the norm.

Expand full comment

disney was granted the same monopoly on powers of coercion and taxation that govt posesses.

Expand full comment

I think they're sick of all the hurrays for the other side that have been going on. It's no good continually trying to play chess if the other side is intent on street brawling.

Expand full comment

Journalists, doctors, politicians have all gone the way of the untrustworthy. Nobody believes a thing written by these media losers. They should get a real job and see how that goes.

I mean think about it; journalists make a living by reporting things that other people do. Mostly negative things. That falls under the auspices of parasite. I guess they have more in common with the COVID-19 virus than we thought.

Expand full comment
author

Most journalism now is parasitic -- what is Taylor Lorenz if she's not a parasite? -- but it shouldn't be. I was drawn to journalism, almost thirty years ago, because of the degree to which it gave me license to wander around and talk to interesting people. What's most striking about contemporary journalism is how little curiosity is in it, and how little respect for other people journalists tend to have. Somewhere along the line, it turned into a political commissariat for scolds and busybodies.

Expand full comment

Let’s face it the real scandal here is that investigative journalism did not uncover this stealth theft from the Florida tax payers. Corporate news does not want to upset the machine that feeds them, unless the consumers stop watching and reading their propaganda that is. Florida residents should chose their sources of news more wisely and selectively.

Expand full comment

So now Uncle Walt et.al. will raise their ticket prices, hotel and resort prices, food prices, cruise prices, and anything else they can think of. Maybe plop a few casinos amidst the roller coasters. They won’t be paying any taxes, but their visitors will (who are mostly foreign tourists). Basically China will further subsidize the operation which is fine with me. Nothing but a silly money pit anyway.

Expand full comment

Uncle Walt has been dead since 1966. He has nothing to do with the Disney organization as it has become. He would be horrified to see what it has become.

Expand full comment

I know. Just a euphemism.

Expand full comment