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.
Three Crises, Three Opportunities
The Roundup, Capitol Weekly’s daily morning news brief, covered three of the biggest issues facing the Golden State on the morning of October 19, and unintentionally highlighted why it’s so crucial that the California GOP popularizes a reformist agenda ahead of the 2016 and 2018 elections.
First, the LA Times reported on the bipartisan desire to fund road repair, and the contrasting policy approaches- Democrats’ desire to increase gas taxes and other user fees, and Republicans’ counter-offer of… not much.
Second, another LA Times article highlighted the ongoing controversy over the University of California’s questionably-spent budget and Sacramento’s waning support. There’s a lot of meat in there, so read it. Basically, it’s the same Brown-Napolitano debate- spend less and regulate more, or spend more and regulate less. Interesting, given the massive transformations in higher education that (California-born!) technology is making possible, that we’re talking about this in solely administrative terms. (more…)
CTA Bides Time To Eliminate Rainy Day Reserve
Sponsors of an extension of the Proposition 30 top income tax rates amended their ballot initiative this week, slightly parting the curtain on the skirmishes yet to come.
Recently I wrote of a clever provision buried in the original proposal. Sponsors aim to continue the tax hikes on the upper incomes for another dozen years. But they also slipped in a clause prohibiting the deposit of any revenues from these taxes into the new rainy day reserve. In other words, the Legislature can spend all the money from billions in new taxes as if those revenues are locked in stone and never subject to the business cycle.
The upshot would be to undermine the newly-adopted budget cushion, notably touted by Governor Brown in 2014, and risk deep spending cuts or even higher taxes when the state suffers its next, inevitable downturn. (more…)
Reporters Duped by Prop. 47 Critics Fail to Hold Officials Accountable
You know what’s worst than bad reporting? Using bad reporting as the source for your own reporting.
On Monday, a column in Fox & Hounds Daily disparages Proposition 47, the popular 2014 California voter initiative, based on various news accounts to date. But if the author looked closer at what is happening in California, he would realize that he’d fallen into the same trap of speculative and politicized reporting that has not only misinformed readers about the reform law but also misses the point about what will determine its success: how local officials respond.
Let’s remember the facts: Proposition 47 was enacted in November with 60% voter support, underscoring Californians’ resolve to fix a broken justice and prison system. What did Prop. 47 do? It changed simple low-level drug possession, and five petty-theft offenses (under $950) from felonies to misdemeanors. (more…)
California Employment: “The Heart is a Lonely Hunter” Edition
Last Thursday we had the annual Arc Angel Breakfast at Clint Reilly’s Merchants Exchange building in downtown San Francisco. Over 275 people from local businesses were in attendance, along with State Senator Mark Leno and San Francisco Supervisor Scott Wiener, long-time friends of The Arc San Francisco.
As with other recent Arc breakfasts, this one focused on increasing employment for adults with a range of physical and developmental differences. At The Arc, this still means some adults with physical differences: adults who are wheelchair users, hard of hearing, sight-impaired. In far greater numbers, though, today it means adults with neurological differences: adults with autism, Down syndrome and a range of other neurodiverse conditions. (more…)
Environmental Activists Turn Up The Rhetorical Heat
What is the endgame of the contemporary green movement? It’s a critical question since environmentalism arguably has become the leading ideological influence in both California government and within the Obama administration. In their public pronouncements, environmental activists have been adept at portraying the green movement as reasonable, science-based and even welcoming of economic growth, often citing the much-exaggerated promise of green jobs.
The green movement’s real agenda, however, is far more radical than generally presumed, and one that former Sierra Club President Adam Werbach said is defined by a form of “misanthropic nostalgia.” This notion extends to an essential dislike for mankind and its creations. In his book “Enough,” green icon Bill McKibben claims that “meaning has been in decline for a long time, almost since the start of civilization.” (more…)
Governor Brown’s Attack on Prop 218 Is a Threat to the Middle Class
Governor Brown has foolishly decided to poke a hornets’ nest with his signing of Assembly Bill 401. While AB 401 itself isn’t particularly controversial, as it merely authorizes a couple of state agencies to devise a plan by 2018 to assist low income individuals with paying their water bills, the problem is what Brown wrote in the letter approving the bill.
Although not common, Governors occasionally issue a statement when they approve a bill passed by the Legislature. In signing AB 401, Governor Brown exposed his disdain for the taxpayer and ratepayer protections set forth in Proposition 218, a Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association initiative approved by voters in 1996. Brown stated that, “Proposition 218 . . . serves as an obstacle to thoughtful, sustainable water conservation pricing and necessary flood and stormwater system improvements.” (more…)