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’s Climate And Energy Policies Are Good For Business
There’s a famous optical illusion where one person sees a vase while another sees two faces in profile. That’s what it felt like for me, as a small business owner on the board of Small Business California, to read High Costs of Climate Change Policies Don’t Help California Manufacturing (Sept. 14) by Dorothy Rothrock at the California Manufacturers & Technology Association (CMTA). When I look at California’s pioneering policies on climate change, efficiency, and clean energy, I see competitive advantage and economic opportunity—and so do the 3,000 other employers, representing 3.2 million small businesses, who are part of the Small Business California network.
Our ranks might not include global giants like ExxonMobil and BP America, who belong to CMTA. But Small Business California’s members make up a good representative group of the 3.2 million small enterprises across the state. And we place a premium on growing our businesses in a responsible way. California’s small businesses are often the first to demonstrate better ways of producing and delivering goods and services. When it comes to making money in a more energy-efficient way that is healthier for our employees, families, and communities, we are all in favor—and we are not alone. (more…)
Pension Initiative to be Re-filed?
Over the weekend, two sources indicated to me that the Chuck Reed/Carl DeMaio pension reform initiative would be pulled, re-written, and re-submitted to the attorney general for a new title and summary. If it is to be re-filed, it is worth considering for which ballot it would be re-submitted.
Whatever a new initiative might declare would be attacked by public employee unions with criticisms real or imagined. But would the placement of the initiative on the 2018 ballot give the measure a higher probability of success?
The 2016 presidential election will bring out a greater turnout of voters, many occasional voters who don’t pay as much attention to public affairs. The profile for the 2016 electorate would contain a larger percentage turnout of Democratic voters who are more closely connected to public employees whose union leaders will rail against any pension reform initiative. (more…)
Can California Women Keep Bailing the State Out?
If it weren’t for women, California would be in even bigger trouble.
Despite all the state’s obstacles and struggles, one big reason why we keep getting wealthier and more productive is women, and their hard work. As a new report from the California Budget & Policy Center reminds, women are working more and more. In the most recent economic expansion, the typical hours worked annually by women were higher than in previous expansions.
The question, of course, is how long can this go on? And the CBPC report suggests the state needs to do more to for its more diverse workforce. The biggest ways the state could help involve time. (more…)
California’s Simple Economic Solution: Truthful Accounting
Earlier this week, fifteen Republican presidential candidates took the stage at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California, and leading up to the debate, several candidates even likened themselves to Ronald Reagan. But what would he say if he knew 49 of the 50 states are hiding their retirement debt, including California?
California’s financials reveal the state government has a massive amount of hidden debt – $111 billion worth. When compared with other states in the West and Pacific Northwest, California has the highest hidden debt.
When this $111 billion of hidden debt is included, California actually owes $328.3 billion in bills yet has only $93.8 billion available to pay those bills. In order for the state to be debt-free, each California taxpayer would have to pay a staggering $20,900 to the state’s Treasury – that’s almost a year of undergraduate, in-state tuition at UC Berkeley. With a Taxpayer Burden of $20,900, California has the second highest Taxpayer Burden in the Western region. (more…)
Sacramento Sends Brown Sweeping Medical Pot Regulations
Marking the end of one era and the start of a new one, Sacramento lawmakers sent legislation to Gov. Jerry Brown’s desk that would revolutionize California’s approach to legal medical marijuana.
Together, Assembly Bills 266 and 243, along with Senate Bill 643, were dubbed the Medical Marijuana Regulation and Safety Act — the culmination of an unprecedented effort to “draft regulations for an industry entirely from scratch,” as Assemblyman Reggie Jones-Sawyer, D-Los Angeles, put it, according to the influential Smell the Truth blog.
“Patients will still need a doctor’s recommendation to use cannabis, and can have caregivers. But the state will do away with collectives and cooperatives in favor of licensed, background checked, commercial growers, distributors and sellers. The laws call for 12 types of state industry licenses, and dual local and state licensing. City and counties can ban medical cannabis activity, or tax it.” (more…)
Stu Spencer on the Republican Debate
Stu Spencer, the man who managed Ronald Reagan’s successful presidential campaign, had an unexpected message for the Republican presidential candidates following the debate at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley: “My counsel to anybody will be, Reagan’s gone. Reagan was great. We’re in a new world; new generations.”
Spencer acknowledged that the candidates who talked about Reagan at the debate did so as tribute to the former president and that was appropriate. But he advised: “Be yourself. What are you going to do? Don’t compare yourself to Reagan.” (more…)