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.
How the 2016 Senate Race Will Divide California
Are you a Kamala or a Loretta?
Attorney General Kamala Harris and Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez—the two leading candidates for the state’s open U.S. Senate seat next year—confront Californians with a choice. But it’s not a choice about competing policies or political visions. Californians don’t have political arguments about what we believe anymore. Harris and Sanchez are both Democrats, and we’re a one-party state (Republicans are dying faster than our fisheries), where most people agree on all the big issues. Our disputes these days are over just how many resources to devote to the causes we favor.
No, this is a choice about identity, personality, manners, and culture.
Q&A with Allan Hoffenblum on the California Target Book
(Editor’s Note: For twenty years, The California Target Book has been the authoritative go-to guide for all interested in California elective politics. The Target Book contains detailed analysis of candidates, their supporters and background for each Assembly, State Senate and Congressional race in the state. To learn more about the workings of the California Target Book, Fox & Hounds Daily asked questions of the Target Book’s co-founder, Allan Hoffenblum.)
Q: The California Target Book is filled with minute details about candidates’ backgrounds, vote totals in the candidate races, how voters in every legislative district voted in presidential and gubernatorial races, and money raised and spent among other facts. How in the world do you gather all this data? (more…)
It’s Time to Improve California’s Budget Process
Within the next 25 days, the Legislature must pass the 2015-16 state budget. During the past two decades, the process by which the budget was developed and brought to a vote became less and less open and transparent. At one time, the budget had to be approved on the floor of each house before being sent to conference committee, and was open for any member to amend. Only the differences between the Senate and Assembly versions were the subject of the conference committee.
Since the passage of Proposition 25, the 2010ballot measure that allows the budget and trailer bills to be passed by a majority vote of the Legislature, the budget process has become even worse, and there has been an increase in the number of “budget trailer bills” with major policy issues that should be in stand-alone bills. (more…)
Firms With Less than 20 Employees Created All The Net New Jobs In The U.S. From 1989 to 2012
The very small businesses, with fewer than 20 employees, have created all of the net new jobs in the United States over the period from 1989 to 2012 based on the data provided by the Office of Advocacy, U.S. Small Business Administration and the Bureau of Census. Total job creation over these 23 years was 24,182,049 net new jobs and companies with less than 20 employees created 25,909,322 jobs. Figure 1 shows the total net new jobs created by all companies reported by BuCensus/Advocacy according to company size at the start of the Fiscal Year. Figures 2 through 4 show the individual charts of net new job creation (loss) for the company sizes of: less than 20 employees; 20 to 500 employees; and more than 500 employees. (more…)
Around the World, Limiting Direct Democracy
California is not alone.
Every year in California it seems, there are legislative attempts to put new regulations on direct democracy. I’m not talking about the big redesign the California initiative process needs, so that it fits better with the rest of government. I’m talking about the little bills on higher filing fees and restrictions on signature gathering pay or requiring petition circulators to wear badges that have become perennials. These bills would merely raise the cost of direct democracy, thus making it even more exclusively the province of the rich. Few have gotten through here; indeed, the most recent legislation to pass on initiatives, the overhyped SB 1253, made a series of small improvements to the process.
In California, defenders of direct democracy have suggested there is a war against initiative and referendum here. But that criticism is too small. If there is such a war, it’s global. (more…)
The Medi-Cal Mess
California’s health program for the poor and disabled, Medi-Cal, has presented state lawmakers with quite a perplexing paradox. More and more people fall under the protection of Medi-Cal and need a doctor but fewer and fewer doctors are accepting the low fees associated with the program. While a simple solution may appear to be increasing the size of the Medi-Cal budget, Medi-Cal is already stretching the state budget and squeezing other programs. Thus, dealing with the Medi-Cal mess has become a real problem for state lawmakers and the governor.
As former Gov. Schwarzenegger economic advisor David Crane pointed out in a Sacramento Bee op-ed, “Medi-Cal’s share of spending has grown 35 percent since Brown took office and now consumes one-sixth of the budget.” (more…)