Talk about a battle of the titans. It’s the foremost example of American success vs…well, not that.

First the Secretary of the VA – the poster child of government inefficiency – decides to compare its wait times to Disney, to which Disney made a very timely reply that completely made a fool of the VA. Essentially, Disney politely reminded the VA that they take wait times very seriously, and make sure that their customers and guests are taken care of while they wait so that they don’t even feel like they’re waiting.

You can read that epic takedown here.

But it would appear that government isn’t done trying to make an example out of Disney yet. In fact, big government’s head cheerleader, Bernie Sanders, decided he would take a swing at the Magic Kingdom because it *gasp* makes money.

“Anybody here work for Disney?” he said during a speech, to cheers. “Anybody here making a living wage from Disney?” he asked the crowd to a thunderous “no.”

“Here in Anaheim, and the surrounding area, Disney pays its workers wages that are so low that many of them are forced to live in motels, because they can’t afford a decent place to live.” said Bernie.

You can watch the video here.

Bernie Sanders Goes Off On Disney and ABC at… by DailyPolitics

As it happens, I have a friend – who wishes to remain anonymous – who worked at Disney California, and completely blew Sander’s claim out of the water.

“It is not true. It’s like any place.” she says. “Schedule, hours, and hourly pay, depends on your seniority. They hire in part time. Full time is granted on seniority and performance, so I don’t really think people apply there to support families or themselves.”

As it stands, most of the people who apply there for lower paying jobs are younger, and are usually there for summer jobs, or internships. Pay raises, hours, and promotions are awarded based on the dreaded merit.

Looking at the Disney full time benefits list shows me that working there gives you lots of perks.

As taken from the website.

Pursue Good Health
Your health and wellness benefits

• Medical
• Disney Health Pursuits Wellness Resources
• Employee Assistance Program (EAP)
• Behavioral Health
• Prescription Drug Coverage
• Dental
• Vision
• Healthcare and Dependent Day Care Flexible Spending Accounts
• Life, Accident and Disability Insurance

Build Your Career
Your growth and development resources

• Learning and Development Opportunities
• Educational Reimbursement

Take Time to Refuel
Your time off and work/life programs

• Paid Holidays
• Vacation
• Sick Pay and Short-term Disability
• Leaves of Absence
• Bereavement and Jury Duty
• Personal Life Resources
• Group Legal Plan
• Adoption Assistance Program
• Onsite Childcare Centers

Save for Tomorrow
Your retirement and financial benefits

• 401(k) Savings Plan with Company Match
• Retirement Savings Plan for Salaried Employees

Enjoy the Magic
Your special extras

• Complimentary Theme Park Admissions

• Employee Discounts, including local, national and Disney-themed discounts

• Merchandise discounts at selected Disney-owned and operated stores

• Company-sponsored Events and Services

• Disney VoluntEARS

• Disney Employee Matching Gifts

• Commuter Assistance Program

• Many Other Unique Advantages

I’m in the wrong profession.

Glassdoor.com tells us that even interns make over $15 an hour, and gives us a much wider view of the pay scale at Disney if you want to take a look for yourself.

As far as the H-1B program, Disney had this to say:

Over the past 5 years, The Walt Disney Company has added more than 18,000 jobs in the U.S. Approximately a year and a half ago, we reorganized our Parks and Resorts IT department, taking it from a team that focused primarily on maintaining our existing systems, to one that is more focused on developing new capabilities. A focus on innovation is critical given the constant evolution of technology.

Approximately 250 people were affected by the reorganization, and we were able to hire back more than 100 of them in other positions with Disney. In addition, since the reorganization, we have hired more than 140 other US IT workers into technical roles within the Parks technology team, and we are currently recruiting candidates to fill more than 100 IT positions. The Parks US IT team will ultimately be larger than it was prior to the reorganization. 

I won’t agree that Disney’s use of H-1B was right, and I agree with Marco Rubio who said that any company, including Disney, who abuses this rule should be bared from using it in the future. Disney, however, has clearly taken steps to right whatever wrong was done, and even expand its IT department with US workers since.

Funny that Sanders never mentioned that.

Suffice to say, Sanders is just an old man yelling at a Mickey shaped cloud. He even attempts to shame Disney’s CEO for the amount of money he makes compared to his lowest workers at the company, as if that was some kind of gauge to judge pay by. The man runs Disney, one of the largest corporations on the planet. He’s not exactly preparing someone’s cotton candy on a stick.

Sander’s class warfare tactics generate an us vs. them mentality, with them being anyone who has gone above and beyond to make a stack of money. The house the mouse built might have problems – what massive entity doesn’t – but in this case you can see they take pretty good care of who they employ, and any mistakes they make, they quickly make up for.

If only government, which Bernie champions, had such compunctions.

Disney is a successful company that made the profit it did, not because it took advantage of its workers, but because it made some insanely good moves, such as…improving its wait times at their parks, Mr. VA secretary.

Then there’s the whole Marvel Comics Universe thing they do, which is essentially a goldmine. In short, everything Disney does is designed to give its customers a great experience to make – and brace yourself – money, because that’s what a corporation does.

Disney is efficient. Sanders is a liar.