Below is my column in The Hill on how Disney appears to be honoring the 300th anniversary of Adam Smith by recognizing some basic economic principles like the need to sell goods to make profits.
Here is the column:
This year marks the 300th anniversary of Adam Smith, the iconic figure behind the theory of free markets, or of what we have since come to call “capitalism.”
Born in June 1723, Smith went on to explain how the “invisible hand” of the market worked as people exercised their choices between certain products. It can shape economies and challenge whole governments. One company in particular appears to be learning that lesson.
In recent filings, Disney appears concerned that the “invisible hand” of Adam Smith is effectively giving the “House of Mouse” the middle finger. In a new corporate disclosure, Disney acknowledges that its controversial political and social agenda is costing the company and shareholders.
In its annual SEC report, Disney acknowledges that “we face risks relating to misalignment with public and consumer tastes and preferences for entertainment, travel and consumer products.” In an implied nod to Smith, the company observes that “the success of our businesses depends on our ability to consistently create compelling content,” and that “Generally, our revenues and profitability are adversely impacted when our entertainment offerings and products, as well as our methods to make our offerings and products available to consumers, do not achieve sufficient consumer acceptance. Further, consumers’ perceptions of our position on matters of public interest, including our efforts to achieve certain of our environmental and social goals, often differ widely and present risks to our reputation and brands.”
Disney and other companies have previously ignored consumer backlash over corporate campaigns such as Disney’s opposition to Florida’s Parental Rights in Education law. Corporate officials once avoided political controversies and focused on selling their products and services rather than viewpoints.
Disney has reportedly lost a billion dollars just on four of its recent “woke” movie flops, productions denounced by critics as pushing political agendas or storylines. Yet until now, the company has continued to roll out underperforming movies as revenue has dropped. What’s more, Disney stars persist in bad-mouthing its fabled storylines and undermining its new productions. The company admits that it has suffered a continued slide in “impressions” (that is, viewership) by 14 percent.
For shareholders, it may seem counterintuitive that corporate executives would trade off profits for political or social agendas. However, it does serve as a rationale for individual corporate executives who are professionally advanced when they champion such causes. For example, when Alissa Heinerscheid, vice president of marketing for Bud Light, pledged to drop Bud Light’s “fratty reputation and embrace inclusivity,” she was heralded by colleagues, even though her move went on to tank that brand as a whole. Indeed, Bud Light has still not recovered from the loss of billions in profits, market share, and overall market value.
The same trend is playing out in the media. Public trust in journalists has fallen to a record low. Yet media executives continue to push advocacy journalism, abandoning objectivity. As former New York Times writer Nikole Hannah-Jones declared, “all journalism is activism.”
With falling subscriptions and public backlash (this includes the amusing “Let’s go, Brandon!” mantra), the journalists continue to saw at the thin branch upon which they are sitting.
Again, while advocacy journalism is no more popular than woke corporate agendas, it remains “wealth-maximizing” for individual journalists, who can receive accolades from contemporaries by taking steps detrimental to their profession as a whole. For each individual, the falling revenues of their media outlets are outweighed by the individual advancement that comes with embracing advocacy over objectivity.
The same is true with academia, where universities and colleges are roundly criticized for their intolerance of opposing views and for purging faculties of conservative or libertarian professors. Roughly half of this country holds conservative or libertarian views. Yet faculty members have little incentive to put themselves at risk by demanding more intellectual diversity or viewpoint tolerance.
Each of these tales of decline represents a variation on another economic model called the “tragedy of the commons” whereby everyone makes personal decisions to their own immediate advantage that ultimately kill off the very resource that sustains everyone.
All of these corporate, journalistic and academic figures are acting for their immediate personal advantage at the expense of their companies and institutions.
In fairness to Disney, there is an expressive element to its products. Movies are artistic creations that emphasize certain motivations and values. At one time, those values included some that are now viewed as offensive, including racist tropes.
The question is the balance and degree of the political and social agenda. Disney’s products are now viewed by many conservatives as empty virtue signaling and endless attempts to indoctrinate children. Moreover, when the company publicly declares its opposition to a popular parental rights bill in Florida, it is moving away from a commercial to a political focus.
That is the problem with the invisible hand. You can bring movies to the public, but you cannot make them sell. Once an unassailable and uniting brand, Disney brand is now negatively associated with activism by a significant number of consumers. The company is now even reporting a decline in licensing revenue from products associated with Star Wars, Frozen, Toy Story and Mickey and Friends — iconic and once-unassailable corporate images.
The question is how long Disney (or its shareholders) can tolerate falling revenues tied to its “misalignment with the public.” It is a massive corporation and it can lose billions before facing any truly dire decisions. Yet even Disney’s CEO, Bob Iger, now appears to be seeking to “quiet things down” after years of culture wars.
Iger has come to accept that a company does indeed have to sell products to survive. As Smith wrote, “It is not from the benevolence of the Butcher, the Brewer or the Baker that we expect our dinner, but from their regard to their own interest.”
So Happy 300th birthday, Adam. It is a bit belated, but so was Disney’s recognition of your economic principles.
Jonathan Turley is the J.B. and Maurice C. Shapiro Professor of Public Interest Law at the George Washington University Law School.
After many years going to Disney parks, we have quit all together – not another $1 for them. They chose to ruin their brand and we choose to ignore it completely.
I am 71 years old and fondly remember watching the Walt Disney Show for years with my grandparents whom I lived with from age 3 to 10. I fondly remember going to Walt Disney World with my little children and mother in law who I loved and she really had fun. We got up early every morning and had a wonderful vacation. I ask Walt Disney stockholders how in the world can you turn off my wonderful memories and fondness for Walt Disney? It sounds like an impossible task but Disney has somehow succeeded in doing so with their woke statements and policies. LOL. I have absolutely no interest in ever visiting Disney again unless a family member was sick and wanted to go. I turn off the Disney shows too on TV so congratulations Disney you have really lost me as a follower. Great Job. LOL. W Manion, MDPhDJDMBA
Yesterday was the birthday of a great free market economist, Henry Hazlitt. If you read only one econ book, read his _Economics in One Lesson_. It’s brief, crystal clear, and written for the layman.
Thank you. I will try to find it.
https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/3028
I posted the wrong link last time. here is a link to the PDF version of the book.
https://fee.org/media/42451/economics-in-one-lesson-pdf.pdf
Is Turley aware of federal security and intelligence agencies using “Jim Crow” tactics to silence legal First Amendment activity?
Some agencies are intentionally preventing American citizens from earning a livelihood, in the occupation of their choice, for at least 20 years now.
Maybe to fool government watchdogs (ie: GAO, IGs, Congress) these executive branch agencies engineer it so the target’s spouse or children makes a great salary.
So the target is demeaned as being a dependent, never earning their own livelihood, never having that dignity – same tactic used against African-Americans during Jim Crow era to demean innocent citizens.
If a local or state official did this, the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division would charge them with a felony and send them to federal prison. But DOJ doesn’t like to enforce civil rights laws against federal security and intelligence agency leaders.
Even the good government bureaucrats don’t seem to understand or care what the citizen crime victims want. Most bureaucrats have never worked in the private sector or started a small business – so even the good ones are out of touch.
Even when they make mistakes and get caught, they still never own up to it and think money solves these problems. Money is the least important way to solve this. Agencies need to own up to this publicly and admit wrongdoing, their victims need official explanation letters to aid future employment.
Since 9/11, these innocent Americans have been harassed by local, state and federal security officials exceeding 8000 consecutive days – akin to Chinese Water Torture. Many have averaged a 70% paycut for 20 years. The federal government has chosen to not allow them to make a living for 20 years in the occupation of their choice and without daily interrogations.
This was started by the unconstitutional “Bush Preemption Doctrine” against mostly Democrats. In the coming years and decades, Trump supporters will be on the receiving end of these Jim Crow tactics. They were even back then and are still evil!
Republicans started this “Deep State” – now they are focused on Trump supporters!
Why would you support groomers?
When a company urinates all over you and then tells you its raining. Don’t expect the customers to return to pay for the next shower.
Disney’s SEC statement is typical weasel tongue – the language of con men, politicians, banksters, etc.
Really it’s “consumers aren’t accepting our products.”
Notice the word salad of big words. Who writes this stuff, an AI?
And the gaslight word “perception” is thrown in for good measure. According to them, it’s not the reality of their goals that we disagree with, it’s our perception as if we can’t perceive reality (or their agenda) properly.
If you don’t play the game, Disney, Annheiser Busch, Target, et al, you get blackballed at the BlackRock/Vanguard gravy trough. Getting blackballed from the $22T+ pair and more with their other conspirators is a death sentence. So, AB has to lose $15B of market cap from woke policies so BR and the global control freaks can get their controlled society of sheep. Does not matter to BR and Vanguard and others at the top of the pyramid because they own the competitors to each and everyone one of these. Great, everyone buys more Modelo owned beer instead. Same people make out. Everyone get it now? Until these basic underpinnings are spoken of openly and we all buck them nothing will change.
Then speak openly…It’s the jews
Modelo in the US is not owned by AB as it is in many other countries.
Jonathan: Who were some of the people DJT pardoned in the last days of his administration? This is important because it demonstrates how DJT will misuse the pardon pardon if he becomes president again. Just 2 days before Christmas 2020, DJT pardoned some of his closest allies—Paul Manafort, Roger Stone (who you discussed in a previous column) and Jared Kushner’s father, Charles Kushner.
In 2005 the elder Kushner was sentenced to 2 years in prison on tax evasion and making illegal campaign donations. When he discovered he was being investigated by the Feds and his brother-in-law was a cooperating witness, Charles tried to intimidate him. He hired a prostitute to seduce his brother-in-law and secretly recorded the encounter. He then showed the video to his brother-in-law’s wife. A real sordid character. But DJT sympathized with another guy’s tax evasion problems and so he pardoned his son-in-law’s father. Another case of the abuse of the pardon power.
Now Rolling Stone is reporting on another sordid character DJT pardoned just before leaving office. His name is Jonathan Braun. Braun was convicted of running a vast marijuana ring and was serving a 10 year sentence at the time of DJT’s pardon. At the time of the pardon the Feds were negotiating with Braun over his involvement in the predatory merchant cash advance business. Braun was accused of making violent threats to 8 people who had borrowed money from him. The DJT pardon stopped that investigation. Shortly after the pardon and Braun was released from prison he was banned from making loans in NY by AG Letitia James. Yes, that Letitia James. And it turns out Braun had connections to the Kushner family. Braun’s father, Jacob Braun, reached out to Jared Kushner’s father who facilitated the DJT pardon.
So why is the Braun case important? DJT has publicly said that if re-elected he will pardon the J. 6 9 insurrectionists and the higher ups–like Rudy Giuliani, John Eastman and others who may be convicted over their attempts to overturn the 2020 election. DJT has and will continue to abuse the pardon power, attempt to obstruct justice and reward his allies and co-conspirators. That’s another reason DJT should never see the inside of the WH ever again!
“This is important because “
No, its not, nincompoop. It has not one iota of impact on the average american. Nice try.
Paul and Roger were political prosecutions. They deserved to be pardoned. The violent j6 ers, though guilty received way too harsh a sentence. The ones who just walked near the Capital or went in to try and find a bathroom deserve to be pardoned for the political prosecutions.
Spend an hour looking into Clinton’s pardons and report back (spoiler: you’ll find a retched hive of scum and villainy.). If you don’t realize your standard politician has 10x the skeletons in their closets, you’re blind. J6 was an inside job perpetuated by like-minded leftists in the gov and the intelligence apparatus. The majority of American now understands this now. You’re on the outside looking in. Seems you’re just another infected by TDS.
Dennis please spare me the pearl clutching over President Trumps Pardons. You want to be truthful????? Why not list some of the creeps that Obama and Clinton and Bush pardoned? Oh yeah, because they were convicted VIOLENT CRIMINALS.
Even when that invisible hand slaps them across the face they still won’t woke up. I wonder if they’ve put their mouse where the sun don’t shine will they ever admit the pain? Step right up. Mickey brand lubricant one tube for one hundred dollars. Get yours while they last and whistle a happy tune.
That”s funny, man. Similar to what Doomcock would say.
There’s a woke smokey double cheese burger, an order of fries and a coke that you can buy at McDonald’s for sixteen dollars and ten cents. Cancel the coke and add a Bud Lite for another five bucks and your up to twenty one dollars and ten cents for lunch. As an added entertainment Mulvany will be dancing from table to table at McDonald’s in order to increase your appetite. In addition you will receive a Joe Bidenomics coloring book absolutely free. You just don’t get it. Santa Claus is a just really a white and rich privileged oppressor of the poor and down trodden. In his day a sleigh like that would have cost a fortune and besides making those Reindeer pull that sleigh is animal cruelty. The Christmas tree will be banned because the word Christ is in its name. Have you had enough yet?
TiT,
I know I have had enough.
Wife and I met up with a good friend for dinner last night. The cost of the food was the same. But was 1/3 the size.
The one Chinese carry out restaurant, increased their prices but reduced the portion size by about 1/3. They closed recently.
A local gas station, convenience mart that sells their own brand of ice cream, a pint has doubled in price.
I am voting Republican no matter who is the candidate.
In October 2023, while inflation amounted to 3.2%, while wages grew by 5.2%.
GDP grew at an annualized rate of 4.9% last quarter (likely 2% for whole year).
2.4 million non-farm jobs in the first 10 months of 2023.
I will take those numbers.
The soft landing (“immaculate disinflation”) should allow you as much soft serve as your heart desires.
If you are unfamiliar with the term, perhaps read about it during your next ice cream indulgence: https://www.newyorker.com/news/our-columnists/economists-struggle-to-come-to-terms-with-immaculate-disinflation
Weak snapshot. GDP is up because prices are up. And don’t confuse inflation and costs/ prices. They are still very high.
I think you’re unfamiliar with how inflation works. Please crack an Econ 101 book.
The Invisible Hand Versus Biden’s Sleight of Hand
On Monday: The economy is fine. On Tuesday: The economy’s bad, but it’s Trump’s fault.
Inflation is down. Sure — from the bone-crushing levels of just six months ago.
Gas prices are down. Sure — Now energy prices are only some 50% higher than they were under Trump.
Unemployment is down. Sure — if you believe in cooking the books. That number is based on some 40% who are working *part-time*.
Interest rates, which are now about *triple* what they were under Trump? Crickets.
Bankruptcies and depleting savings? Crickets, yet again.
Purchasing power, which has plummeted some 25% under Biden? More crickets.
But it gets worse:
“Rob Flaherty, a deputy campaign manager for Mr. Biden, said the campaign was working with content creators on TikTok in an effort to ‘amplify a positive, affirmative message’ about the economy.”
In other words: Biden now has a team of influencers to help him evade reality, yet again.
Sam,
According to Bloomberg, Natural gas is up 29%, car insurance up 33%, major appliances up 12%, groceries up 25%, rent up 20%, restaurant food up 24% (Jan 2020-Oct 2023).
Fast food inflation, chicken up 32%, burgers up 23%, pasta 14%, pizza up 17%.
Meanwhile,
‘Americans expect prices will climb at an annual rate of 4.5% over the next year, up from the 4.4% expected earlier in the month, according to the final November reading from the University of Michigan.’ https://t.co/Vo7z3oIDi6 pic.twitter.com/RX8B6XP1Bm
— Jesse Felder (@jessefelder) November 22, 2023
‘Target CEO Brian Cornell said consumers were holding off from making many purchases until the last minute. For example, they didn’t buy winter clothing until the weather turned cold, classic recessionary behavior.’ https://t.co/p4b8RiGJht
— Jesse Felder (@jessefelder) November 20, 2023
“Reported average rejection rates for credit cards, auto loan, and mortgage loan refinance applications in 2023 exceeded those in 2022,” the New York Fed said.
Buy Now Pay Later usage hit an all-time high on Cyber Monday, contributing $940 million in online spending, up 42.5% from last year, according to Adobe Analytics.
While we talk about issues from 1stA, 2ndA, abortion, immigration, foreign policy etc. come election day, most Americans will vote with their pocket books in mind.
FAKE NEWS
Bureau of Labor Statistics: Unemployment Rate – including alternative measures of labor utilization (i.e., part-time “underemployed”):
Trump’s rate in December 2020: 11.7%
Biden’s Rate in October 2023: 7.2%
https://www.bls.gov/charts/employment-situation/alternative-measures-of-labor-underutilization.htm
Biden must go. There’s a lot at steak. I mean, if the price of meat keeps rising, we will have a Soylent Green situation soon. We can’t let that happen. The steaks are too high!
Then keep your cattle out of the weed patch.
It would be neat if the invisible hand of the market looked like the Hamburger Helper guy:
Iger hasn’t learned squat.
Defying the laws of capitalism will meet with the same tragic results as defying the laws of gravity.
Hands Closing Wallets
Republican National Committee (RNC) Chair Ronna McDaniel blames the party’s relatively low donation amount for the 2024 election cycle on people “fully committed to their candidate right now.”
The Washington Post on Monday reported that the RNC and other GOP operatives are concerned about the party’s finances less than a year before the next presidential election.
The RNC disclosed that it had $9.1 million in cash on hand as of Oct. 30. That’s the lowest amount for the committee in any Federal Election Commission report since February, 2015.
Edited From:
https://www.newsmax.com/newsfront/rnc-ronna-mcdaniel-donors/2023/11/27/id/1143786/
…………………………………….
Here Newsmax bases their article on a Washington Post story. And that WaPo story echoes a piece that appeared in Politico 2 months ago.
Apparently big, conservative donors are pessimistic about Republican fortunes next year. No wonder! The leading candidate for the Republican nomination faces 91 felony counts. What could go wrong?
Trump’s big lead in recent polling probably creates complacency.
Nerd, it’s more like part of the PROBLEM. Why bother giving to what might become a fiasco of a campaign year?
Certainly, Democrats and their media allies would like to create “a fiasco.” But Trump has seemingly already surmounted his greatest challenges. No one outside the Democratic Party takes the lawfare seriously. And he continues to have sufficient funds despite all the legal expenses. His party opponents are falling away. Short of violence, including attempted assassination, nothing seems likely to stop him now.
From this time in 2019 to now, Trump has gained between 6 and 10pts on Biden depending on the polls.
Democrat left wing nut media narratives are slowly and inexoraby collapsing in the face of reality.
Trump was spied on.
Hunter Biden’s laptop is real
The collusion delusion is fake.
J6 was not an insurection.
O7 was.
Presidents are allowed to declassify documents at whim and giver them to whoever they want.
Vice presidents are not.
Fraud requires an actual lie – not a difference of opinion. It also requires being wrong, it aslo requires someone is harmed.
It is increasingly evident that none of the attempts to handicap Trump are working.
While Biden is doing a great job of doing himself in.
And democrats have no plan B. If Biden continues – democrats lose.
If he does not – Harris is near guaranteed to be the candidate and the loss is worse.
Edward, congratulations on The win on Saturday over OSU!
Bless you old man from Kansas. Good luck to Kansas basketball with Hunter Dickenson in the line-up.
That could be it for many but for others a total lack of confidence in the party adhering to their platform is the bigger issue. I don’t trust the RNC to organize, recruit, fund or govern on principles. And I have some basis for that opinion – in 2020 I placed 17000 phone calls for the party recruiting poll watchers and judges, conducting surveys. Only one person from the party noticed, a second term state representative. And RINOs control the state legislature.
Or there waiting and seeing.
Or democrats have inflicted a $hitty economy on us and there is not so much money sloshing arround.
Or campaign donations do not make alot of sense right now – as Trump is getting massive free publicity from the lefts attacks on him,
so why waste money
Regardless, Some time ago we reached peak effectiveness of political money.
It is likely that the candidate who spends $1M when his opponent spends $1 will win.
While the candidate that spends $10M is not so certain to defeat the candidate who spends $1M
Republicans have been outspent by democrats for a long, long long time.
In some very specific cases it matters.
In others it does not.
Trump was outspent by both Biden and Clinton 2:1
Both were razor tight elections.
Regardless, look arround – do you think a bunch of adds is going to Save the democrats ?
Trump can eliminate most of those prosecutions when he becomes President by pardoning himself. The rest will be squashed over time.
I agree 100%, once he’s in he can scrub the DOJ and FBI and provide the evidence for America to see of what these criminals perpetrated against a sitting President. Then he can have his AG prosecute them based on evidence of their crimes and treason. If or when found guilty they can spend the rest of their miserable lives in the DC gulag, one big happy Commie family. Why do you think they’re so frantic?!
The base and their money hasn’t gone away. They don’t want to give to an organization, that like Disney, ignores its customers who are Trump supporters. Hopefully the invisible hand whacks Ronna McDaniel out of power soon