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.
Fix Medi-Cal Or Lose UC and CSU
As a new Congress takes office, newspapers are filled with articles about the potential consequences for California of federal changes to Medicaid but not about how California’s existing version of Medicaid — known as “Medi-Cal” — is already in need of serious reform.
Medi-Cal is a single-payer healthcare entitlement program covering 13.5 million low-income Californians. Funded jointly by the state and the federal government, the program is budgeted to cost $93 billion in the current fiscal year, which ends June 30, 2017. Together, California’s General and Special Funds will provide $27 billion of that spending, 58% more than just six years ago. As a result, Medi-Cal spending growth is crowding out other spending, including spending on the University of California and California State University systems funded by the General Fund: (more…)
So Many New Laws with More to Come
As the new year begins, 900 statutes were added to California law books. If history is our guide—807 new laws last year, 950 the year before that–there will be hundreds of more laws added at the end of this year. Certainly, citizens can’t keep up with all these new laws, not to mention that lawmakers themselves often aren’t aware of all the details in the laws. Here’s a modest suggestion for the newly installed legislature: Concentrate on dealing with major issues like infrastructure improvements rather than adding so many new laws.
As I suggested a couple of years ago, the avalanche of yearly laws might be the result of the designation attached to legislators as “lawmakers.” A quick etymological research found the word is Middle English and has been around since the 14th or 15th century. Perhaps if legislators were not called lawmakers they would not have the urge to make so many laws. With shelves groaning under the weight of so many state laws, subtracting a number of the old laws would be in order. (more…)
Fearless 2017 California Predictions
For the first time in many years I’m optimistic about the economy and politics, even for California. So what’s going to happen in 2017?
1 — Boom times. As I detailed in “Here Comes California Boom Boom” on this site, Trumponomics is going to restore a strong prosperity across America. Although it will be somewhat less in the Golden State because of its pyrite politics, the boom still will flow across us like a tsunami.
Just take Apple Inc. CEO Tim Cook strongly opposed Trump and held a big fundraiser for Hillary Clinton. After the election he met with Trump to talk about “a very large tax cut.” (more…)
Would Gavin Newsom Represent Another Brown Term?
When the 2018 gubernatorial race warms up, Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom and his camp are likely to hammer home their point that it’s his time, that he’s earned the office, much the same way Hillary Clinton’s supporters said she deserved to be president.
Apparently, most Californians would agree with Democrat Newsom, who first won the lieutenant governor’s office in 2010, was re-elected in 2014, and was twice elected San Francisco’s mayor after spending seven years on the city’s board of supervisors. One of the final Field Polls found he has the support of 23 percent of registered voters. The nos. 2 and 3 favorites are Republicans: San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer, who was second with 16 percent, and outgoing Fresno Mayor Ashley Swearengin, who got 11 percent. (more…)
Uber Regulations Mean San Francisco Loses While Phoenix and Pittsburgh Win
Any business person who has dealt with California’s frustrating laws, regulations and bureaucrats was nonetheless surprised to see a story with the headline, “Uber Ships Self-Driving Cars to Arizona After California Ban.”
Really? A state ban on Uber? The poster child of the billion-dollar-plus startup, tech-guru, market-disruptor club? Why would Sacramento give Uber, of all people, a bad time?
Reuters said Uber Technologies Inc. pulled its fleet of self-driving cars from the streets of San Francisco and sent them to Arizona’s friendlier territory: (more…)
Happy Holidays — See You in 2017!
Happy Holidays and Happy New Year!
Fox and Hounds will resume publishing on Tuesday, January 3, 2017.