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.
Your Homework Assignment: Read Goodwin Liu’s Dissent in the Robles Case
It was a good week for the educational status quo in California. Our state’s Supreme Court declined to hear challenges to rules that make it hard to fire teachers and to the state’s low funding for K-12 education.
That’s the bad news. The good news is that 3 of the 7 justices on the Supreme Court dissented, indicating they want to take on the educational system. And the strongest voice among those three was Justice Goodwin Liu.
Liu is a forceful writer who mixes legal reasoning with historical and political claims. He can be maddening. And when he doesn’t have his history right (as in a ruling that involved direct democracy), he can get it wrong. (more…)
Rose Reports that CEQA’s Perfect As Is: Don’t Worry, Be Happy
A few days after we released our “In the Name of the Environment” update on CEQA litigation abuse, which reported on three years of CEQA lawsuits (2012-2015) filed to block construction of about 14,000 housing units (and a 200-bed homeless shelter) in the 6-county, 191-city region included in the Southern California Association of Governments, the Oakland-based Rose Foundation issued a report dismissing claims by “special interests” and “developers” that CEQA should be reformed to curtail litigation abuse for non-environmental purposes and to address the state’s housing supply and affordability crisis.
The consulting firm and attorney authors of the report – including two law professors who continue to represent petitioners in CEQA lawsuits – ignored the housing CEQA reforms proposed by the state’s highest elected official, Governor Brown, and summarily dismissed the conclusion that CEQA was being used to block critically needed housing in reports authored by the Legislature’s own non-partisan think tank, the Legislative Analyst’s Office. (more…)
Bigfoot Is One Scared Californian
By Bigfoot (as told to Joe Mathews)
I’m so famous for keeping a low profile that some people doubt my existence. So I’m here to tell my fellow Californians than I’m proudly one of you.
I travel widely in California (Bigfoot sightings have been reported in every county of this state), and as I do, my fears have grown about our home state. My anxiety is not because of all the strange California characters who are always claiming to have seen me (I made my peace with celebrity stalkers decades before TMZ came along) but because I’m seeing far too much of all of you. (more…)
Case Study Reveals Downside of Minimum Wage Hikes
Los Angeles and California embarked on an unprecedented experiment this past year, when both voted to phase in a $15-minimum wage over a period of years. In L.A., the rate will reach $15 in 2020 for businesses with 26 employees or more and in 2021 for smaller businesses. In California, the $15 rate will be achieved in 2021, making it the highest state minimum wage in the nation.
Business concerns were minimized by both the City Council and the State legislature, who believed that adverse impacts would be minimal. There will be a lot of interest over the next few years to see whether businesses were playing “chicken little” in complaining about the anticipated impact to their businesses and if the economy can absorb these increases with minimal disruption. (more…)
How the Middle Class Lost the Election
Middle-class rage has dominated this election, but ultimately 2016 seems destined to produce not a populist victory but the triumph of oligarchy. Blame goes to a large section of the middle and working class itself, which, in rejecting political convention, ended up with a candidate who never would have served their interests. You can blame “elites” all you want, but in a republic, citizens need to act responsibly. And choosing Donald Trump doesn’t fit that description.
Middle-class revulsion with the political mainstream has been driven by slow economic growth, stagnant wages, a dysfunctional education system, and, for smaller businesses, a tightening regulatory regime. Homeownership is now at a nearly half-century low. New business start-ups, for the first time in three decades, are not keeping up with the number of deaths. Both stats reveal a real decline in aspiration. Most Americans, in a stunning reversal of past trends, see a worse future for their offspring than themselves. Who can blame them? Middle-class breadwinners and working-class wage-earners now suffer from deteriorating health and shorter lifespans. (more…)
Will Anti-Gun Obsession Doom Gavin Newsom in 2018?
Lt. Gov. Newsom is known for three major policies: same-sex marriage, pot legalization and gun control. He has pushed them hard, the last two with initiatives for the Nov. 8 ballot. Proposition 63 would impose more gun control and Proposition 64 would legalize marijuana for recreational use.
The policies will not help him in the 2018 gubernatorial race, in particular if the Top Two final election pits him against Treasurer John Chiang.
Newsom first gained statewide and national renown (or in some circles, notoriety) in 2004 for issuing same-sex marriage licenses when he was mayor of the City on the Bay. After numerous court cases and Proposition 8 in 2008, the matter was settled in 2015 with the Obergefell decision by the U.S. Supreme Court. It’s an issue for the 2014 gubernatorial election, not 2018. In politics, it’s never, “Thanks for helping,” but, “What can you do for me now?” (more…)