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.

California Squashes Its Young

In this era of anti-Trump resistance, many progressives see California as a model of enlightenment. The Golden State’s post-2010 recovery has won plaudits in the progressive press from the New York Times’s Paul Krugman, among others. Yet if one looks at the effects of the state’s policies on key Democratic constituencies— millennials, minorities, and the poor—the picture is dismal. A recent United Way study found that close to one-third of state residents can barely pay their bills, largely due to housing costs. When adjusted for these costs, California leads all states—even historically poor Mississippi—in the percentage of its people living in poverty.

California is home to 77 of the country’s 297 most “economically challenged” cities, based on poverty and unemployment levels. The population of these cities totals more than 12 million. In his new book on the nation’s urban crisis, author Richard Florida ranks three California metropolitan areas—Los Angeles, San Francisco, and San Diego— among the five most unequal in the nation. California, with housing prices 230 percent above the national average, is home to many of the nation’s most unaffordable urban areas, including not only the predictably expensive large metros but also smaller cities such as Santa Cruz, Santa Barbara, and San Luis Obispo. Unsurprisingly, the state’s middle class is disappearing the fastest of any state. (more…)

Stop Higher Water Rates! Waste More Water Now!

It’s time for Californians to act responsibly on water.

During the drought, we came together to serve.

Now we must come together to waste as much water as possible.

Why? For the poor.

Water agencies around the state are preparing to increase their rates even higher. Why? Californians have cut back on water use, and since these agencies sell water, that leaves them with less revenue. Their response is higher rates. (more…)

Californians Need Unbiased Information to Make Informed Decisions

In a recent piece commenting on the Public Policy Institute of California’s latest poll, Fox & Hounds editor Joel Fox raised an important question: “How do we educate voters to the actual working of government so that they can offer wise thoughts to pollsters and cast educated votes in elections?”

In other words – how can we make sure that Californians are equipped with the knowledge they need to make informed decisions?

When asked about improving schools, respondents to PPIC’s April poll on Californians and Education had what Fox called an “understandable reaction” and opted to add more funding for education. But would respondents to the poll have answered differently to questions regarding school improvement if they knew how much the state already spends on schools? (more…)

CA Legislature Must Stop Bullying UC

As the State Legislature holds a hearing about the University of California, consider the following:

UC will collect $3.5 billion from the state this year, just six percent more than a decade ago. Since 2010, state spending on UC is up just two-thirds of the growth rate of state revenues and just a fraction of the 76%, 58% and 32% increases in state spending on pensions, healthcare and corrections over that period. As the Los Angeles Times recently reported, UC just underwent its eighth state audit in recent years. Sound fair? It gets worse: (more…)

Auditor Report a Reminder that UC Compensation is Out of Control

Last week’s report from State Auditor Elaine Howell reveals some disturbing budgeting and compensation practices at the University of California’s Office of the President (UCOP).  But the problem isn’t just limited to UCOP; it is a systemwide phenomenon.  We have previously reported that Robert Reich makes close to $300,000 annually to teach one class at Berkeley and to complain about income inequality, while a dismissed football coach at the same campus received $1.8 million. We also found that ten retired UC academics were pulling down pensions of over $300,000 annually.

UC defenders would be correct in arguing that compensation practices are in line with those of top private universities. According to Forbes, eight University presidents received over $2 million in annual compensation in 2014. That included the presidents of SMU, Columbia, Northwestern and the University of Chicago. But when executives work in the public sector, there is normally an expectation of lower compensation in return for the privilege of providing public service. This is why top government executives like mayors and governors typically make less than $250,000 annually – and often a lot less. With a few notable exceptions, their salaries set a ceiling above which the compensation of other employees in the governmental unit do not rise. (more…)

Middle Class must be Higher Priority for California Leaders

For years, economists, business leaders and policymakers warned that the decline in blue-collar manufacturing jobs in California would leave us with a shrinking middle class, limited economic mobility and a plethora of social ills traditionally equated with systemic poverty.

A recent report by the Los Angeles Economic Development Corporation demonstrates that those warnings have become a reality.

Since 2007, the loss of our manufacturing base has cost Los Angeles nearly 89,000 good-paying middle-class jobs. Those jobs have been replaced with service-sector jobs that pay less than half of the jobs they replaced. At the same time, Los Angeles County has seen poverty rates climb, the middle class shrink, housing affordability grow beyond the grasp of working people, and homelessness hit crisis proportions. Our “middle class” is slipping away into a world of haves and have-nots. (more…)