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.
Happy Thanksgiving!
The Editors at Fox and Hounds Daily wish you a very safe and healthy celebration of the Thanksgiving Holiday!
Feinstein Steps Down; A Sign the Political Divide is Still Wide
What to make of California Senator Dianne Feinstein stepping down from potential chairmanship or ranking-member position in the Senate Judiciary Committee? Democratic Party progressives will claim victory by forcing Feinstein from a leadership role because of heavy criticism against the way she conducted herself during the Supreme Court confirmation hearings of Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett. But the senator’s move also symbolizes that the quest for moderation on the political landscape, believed to be advanced with the election of Joe Biden, is far from accomplished.
Sen. Feinstein was old school in the sense that she believed in a civil relationship with her colleagues across the aisle and positioning herself toward the political center. These have always been her principles since abruptly taking over as mayor of San Francisco in the aftermath of George Moscone’s assassination. (more…)
The Most Crucial Small Business Saturday is Coming
Small Business Saturday on November 28 is this event’s most important in its 11-year history because of what the pandemic has done to small businesses and their workers. Now with an upsurge in coronavirus cases and potential stiff business restrictions imposed by California governments, it is more important than ever to support small businesses during this holiday shopping season.
It is no exaggeration to say that shopping at small businesses this season could mean an open or closed sign on the door of many neighborhood businesses as the new year begins.
In an American Express Shop Small Impact study it was revealed that 75% of small business owners need holiday spending to return to normal so they can stay in business in 2021. Nearly half said they need better than average spending to survive. (more…)
The First Question for Gavin
Gov. Newsom’s COVID-19 briefing on November 23 was not confidence-inducing.
The governor couldn’t hear reporters questions for most of this press briefing. But reporters could. And the first question, from an AP reporter, was a direct hit: Governor, have you lost your credibility on COVID?
It was a fair question, and Newsom wasn’t dodging it. The briefing had technical difficulties, and when they were fixed, he tried to answer it.
But the larger problem was not technical—but involved Newsom himself. The governor is still giving these briefings, even though it’s hard to look at him with a straight face, post-French Laundry. Health Secretary Mark Ghaly, who should be leading such briefings, is still riding shotgun. (more…)
Poll confirms Californians’ sour mood on higher taxes
Proposition 15 would have been the largest tax increase in California history and its defeat this month was, by any definition, a huge setback for its sponsors, primarily public employee unions.
They had been yearning for decades to crack Proposition 13, the 1978 ballot measure that limits property taxes, and convinced themselves that singling out commercial property for new taxes would be a winner, especially in a high turnout presidential election.
After Proposition 15 was defeated, its advocates tried to place a positive spin on the outcome, hinting that they would try again to persuade voters to pass new taxes of some kind on someone or something. However, the notion that Californians really want to raise taxes was destroyed last week in a new poll from the UC Berkeley’s Institute of Governmental Studies. (more…)
Prioritizing Small Business
“Taxes on capital, taxes on labor, inflation, bureaucratic regulation, minimum wage laws, are all – to different degrees – unnecessary slices of the wedge that stand between an individual’s effort and reward for that effort.” – Jack Kemp
During Governor Newsom’s November 16th press conference, where he announced that he would pull the “emergency brake” in the Blueprint for a Safer Economy and plunge almost all of California’s population back into the most restrictive tier, the Governor made a special effort to acknowledge the plight of small businesses. He explained that the coronavirus-wracked economy threatened the hopes, dreams and livelihoods of California’s entrepreneurs, and he pledged that the top priority of his January budget would be to “support our small businesses that are trying their best to weather this storm.”
This focus on supporting the state’s small businesses is much needed. According to the most recent data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s Small Business Pulse Survey (collected between November 9th and November 15th), 51.4 percent of California small businesses believe it will take more than 6 months before they return to their normal level of operations. Moreover, 2.3 percent of California small businesses have closed permanently while another 5.9 percent expect to permanently close in the next 6 months. (more…)