Ross Douthat will allow that the Florida Disney retaliation bill is probably poor policy and may be struck down as a First Amendment violation. In general, however, he thinks it’s OK for large corporations to lose their special privileges for speaking out against conservative legislation. Is he right?
No, for two reasons:
- While the creation of the Reedy Creek Improvement District is an obvious and extreme example of a “special privilege,” the vast majority of retaliatory actions the government can take will involve tax code provisions that pertain to an entire class of businesses. To call these “special privileges” would be misleading at best.
- It is inappropriate, and not permitted by the First and Fourteenth Amendments, for the government to deprive anyone of anything just because he expressed a political opinion that is unpopular with a particular official or political party. To overturn that rule would be to threaten a fundamental principle of liberal democracy.