Florida’s governor and his advisors have proved clever at attention grabbing stunts.
That incudes things like using state money to fly undocumented immigrants from Texas to Martha’s Vineyard to troll liberals, boost his profile and drive more donations to his as-yet-unannounced campaign for the Republican presidential nomination.
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And Gov. Ron DeSantis apparently thinks he’s latched onto another winner with his ongoing feud with Disney (DIS).
As part of the fight, DeSantis recently threatened to build a prison next to Disney World.
That was in retaliation for the company’s end run of his efforts to take over the special district that governs the substantial amount of land where Disney World and the other Disney theme parks are located in central Florida.
Why This Is An Empty Threat
For DeSantis, of course, the point isn’t Disney, or “wokeism” or protecting children, it’s publicity. That's probably why he felt so comfortable making an empty threat and winning a news cycle or two.
Still, there are a couple of problems with DeSantis' threat that raise doubts about his...ummm....sincerity.
For one thing, Florida already has prisons. More than 100 of them.
The Florida Department of Corrections is the largest state agency, and the third largest prison system in the country. It incarcerates 80,000 inmates and supervises nearly 146,000 offenders in the community, according to its website.
Overall, the FDC has 128 facilities, including 50 major institutions.
These Prisons Are Close to Disney World
And lo and behold, two of them are already quite close to the Magic Kingdom.
One, Polk Correctional Facility, at 10800 Evans Road in Polk City, Florida, is less than 20 miles down I-4 from the western edge of Disney’s land. It has a capacity for 1,208 prisoners, according to the FDC.
Then there’s Lake Correctional Facility, at 19225 U.S. Highway 27 in Clermont, Florida, less than 20 miles northwest of Disney World. It has capacity for 740 adult prisoners.
It may be possible to build a new prison facility somewhat closer, of course, though the land prices are probably higher around Disney World than elsewhere in the state.
But there's another problem for DeSantis.
Credibility.
In his latest budget proposal DeSantis sought zero dollars for prison construction.
In fact, he vetoed $645 million for prison construction that had already been approved by the state legislature for the 2022-23 fiscal year.
Of course, one can feel confident that those funds will reappear in the new budget given the governor's newfound interest in the issue.
