Fox and Hounds Daily Says Goodbye
With this article, we end publication of Fox and Hounds Daily. It has been a satisfying 12½ year run. When we opened in May 2008, our site was designed to offer an opportunity to those who wished to engage in public debate on many issues, especially in politics and business, but found it difficult to get placed in newspaper op-ed pages.
Co-publishers Tom Ross, Bryan Merica and I have kept F&H going over this time investing our own time, funding, and staff help. Last year at this time we considered closing the site, however with an election on the horizon we decided to keep F&H going through the election year. With the election come and gone, and with no sense of additional resources, we have decided to close the site down.
Fox and Hounds will live on, at least, with my articles collected in the California State Library.
On a personal note, I have spent over 40 years in California policy and politics. There have been some incredible high moments and some difficult low points. It pains me that politics too often is a blood sport, frequently demonizing the motives of opponents and using the legal system as a weapon in public discourse. At Fox & Hounds, we tried to adhere to the practice of giving all a voice in the debate, yet keep the commentaries civil and avoided personal attacks.
F&H offered the opportunity to publish different perspectives (even ones that criticized my writings!). We had success as indicated by the Washington Post twice citing Fox and Hounds Daily one of the best California political websites and many other positive affirmations and comments received over the years.
Tom, Bryan and I want to thank our many readers and writers for being part of our journey. The publishers of Fox and Hounds Daily believe that we added value to California and its people. We hope you agree.
Marijuana Measure Will Have New Look in 2016
Well, it looks like Californians are going to have to keep relying on constipation, obesity, writers cramp and a whole constellation of other ailments if they want to keep their legal marijuana coming for the next two years.
Backers of the well-financed Control, Regulate and Tax Marijuana Act, a weed legalization measure that had been aimed at this year’s ballot, decided to suspend their efforts and wait until 2016 to, ah, fire up the initiative.
Officials from the Drug Policy Alliance, which bankrolled successful 2012 efforts to legalize recreational marijuana use in Colorado and Washington, portrayed the decision as a strategic move to take advantage of the larger – and younger – turnout in a presidential election year.
Hoover Institution Issues Report on California Public Pensions Solutions
In October 2013, the Hoover Institution’s “California Public Pension Solutions” conference, co-hosted by Hoover senior fellow Josh Rauh and SIEPR’s David Crane and Joe Nation, engaged Hoover Institution fellows, pension scholars from across the country, current and former California and out-of-state policy leaders, and pension reform specialists to discuss, in-depth, solutions to California’s public pension challenges.
A Post Conference Report has now been published.
After a full day of rigorously discussing solutions and a public address by San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed, conference attendees were asked to complete a post-conference survey. The survey consisted of ten statements; attendees marked, on a 5-point scale, whether they agreed or disagreed with each statement and then marked their confidence level, also on a 5-point scale.
The Road to Reliable Water
Driving from the foothills of El Dorado County through the majestic heights of the Grapevine, to the Restored Mission in San Juan Capistrano, today is a much different experience than it was just a few years ago. Where once there were abundant orchards and farms plush with economic opportunity now lies a dry, fallow moonscape. This reality is having a devastating impact on California’s families and its economy.
Water has always been and continues to be a precious resource and the source of great division in California. It is an integral part of our economy and cannot be underestimated or undervalued.
Agriculture has historically been the bedrock foundation for California’s wealth and the “food basket of the world.” California leads the nation in the production of fruits, vegetables, wines and nuts. The state’s most valuable crops are nuts, grapes, cotton, flowers, and oranges. In addition, California produces the majority of U.S. domestic wine. Our dairy products contribute the single largest share of farm income to our economy. Our farm lands are highly productive as a result of good soil, ideal climate and growing systems, the use of improved and modern agricultural methodologies and a world-class irrigation system.
The World Is Run By People Who Show Up
When it comes to elections, a friend of mine always says, “The world is run by those who show up,” and the point is obvious. I have been involved in politics and public policy for a long time and enjoy working with elected officials and businesses trying to find common ground. When discussing how lawsuit abuse hurts the economy, I find that the message is most powerful when officials can hear from business leaders and concerned citizens from within their district. After all, these are the people who determine whether or not to throw their representatives out of office in the next election.
As I have stated many times, California has a long way to go when it comes to being a business friendly state. For decades, this state has allowed lawsuit abuse to get worse and worse. It’s no wonder California was ranked the nation’s worse “Judicial Hellhole” for the last two years in a row.
The U.S. Middle Class Is Turning Proletarian
The biggest issue facing the American economy, and our political system, is the gradual descent of the middle class into proletarian status. This process, which has been going on intermittently since the 1970s, has worsened considerably over the past five years, and threatens to turn this century into one marked by downward mobility.
The decline has less to do with the power of the “one percent” per se than with the drying up of opportunity amid what is seen on Wall Street and in the White House as a sustained recovery. Despite President Obama’s rhetorical devotion to reducing inequality, it has widened significantly under his watch. Not only did the income of the middle 60% of households drop between 2010 and 2012 while that of the top 20% rose, the income of the middle 60% declined by a greater percentage than the poorest quintile. The middle 60% of earners’ share of the national pie has fallen from 53% in 1970 to 45% in 2012.
CalChamber Pursues Litigation of Illegal Cap and Trade Auction
California businesses and consumers are paying hundreds of millions in illegal taxes levied by the Air Resources Board that were never authorized by the Legislature.
That is the case being made by the California Chamber of Commerce* in an appeal filed yesterday in litigation to overturn the cap-and-trade revenue-raising auction.
The appeal was filed with the 3rd District Court of Appeal in Sacramento.
“We stand by our belief that the Legislature in passing AB 32 did not authorize the ARB to raise revenue for the state beyond those costs necessary to administer the program,” said Allan Zaremberg, president and CEO of CalChamber. “We also believe the ARB’s auction violates Proposition 13, because it imposes a new tax that did not receive two-thirds approval by the Legislature.”