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.
Reed’s Own Words on Pensions Come Back to Haunt Him in Suit vs. AG
San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed announced last week that he planned to file a lawsuit against California Attorney General Kamala Harris over the title and summary for his proposed measure to enable elected officials to reduce the retirement benefits of teachers, firefighters, police officers, school bus drivers and other public employees. The reason, Reed says, is that the Attorney General used the word “eliminate” in describing his proposal to end the vested benefit rights of public employees.
“This is the only recourse we have to correct something that is inaccurate and misleading,” said Reed of the Attorney General’s description of his measure.
Budget Madness: The Unilateral Phase Out of the Gross Receipts Business Tax
Eric Garcetti is considering a proposal to phase out the $470 million Gross Receipts Business Tax to stimulate the City’s economy and create jobs.
Unfortunately, our cash strapped City cannot afford to forego $30 million in revenue next year as this unilateral phase out without any offsetting revenue will increase the budget deficit to $280 million. And over the next four years, the cumulative budget shortfall will soar to over $800 million.
But maybe the City does not care as another $30 million hit to the budget is chump change when compared to the real budget deficit of $650 million when you eliminate the funny money games the City is playing with the investment rate and mortality assumptions underlying the City’s two massively underfunded pension plans.
‘Families Before Fish’ in The Farmland
A bill to address California’s drought and future water supply in the House of Representatives has Gov. Jerry Brown angry. Brown said the water bill is “an unwelcome and divisive intrusion” into California’s effort to manage the state’s drought, the Sacramento Bee reported Monday night.
H.R. 3964 by California Congressmen David G. Valadao, CA-21, Devin Nunes, CA-22, and Kevin McCarthy, CA-23, is a comprehensive bill to resolve the water crisis in California, according to the congressmen.
“H.R. 3964 is an unwelcome and divisive intrusion into California’s efforts to manage this severe crisis,” Brown wrote in a letter to the Congressmen. “It would override state laws and protections, and mandate that certain water interests come out ahead of others. It falsely suggests the promise of water relief when that is simply not possible given the scarcity of water supplies.”
City Has Work to Do on Jobs
For the past two decades, California’s most populous city has not been creating jobs fast enough for all of its working-age residents. With its population expected to increase by more than 800,000 by the year 2020, the city needs to accelerate a pro-jobs strategy in 2014 to support growth opportunities for the region’s most competitive industries.
For decades, Los Angeles was California’s top job creator. Its human and natural resources, diverse economy, and creative and innovative spirit attracted people from around the world looking for an opportunity to achieve success regardless of their background or skill level. The region’s previous top employers were in aerospace, entertainment and manufacturing. Today, they are the federal, state and local governments, and the Los Angeles Unified School District. The recent report by the LA 2020 Commission only reinforces this concern.
For Brown, It Won’t Be Easy to Just Say No
Gov. Jerry Brown knows he’s in trouble when even President Obama seems to be ganging up against him.
One of the high points of the president’s State of the Union address the other night was a clarion call for universal pre-school education, paid on the public dime. You know, almost exactly like the proposal by Democratic legislators that Brown pointedly ignored when he put out his proposed 2014-15 budget last month.
The president talked about how he asked last year for Congress to help states pay for adding that extra year of school for all four-year-olds and called on Congress to push that funding through this year.
Big Money in Lawyers vs. Doctors Initiative Fight
In a battle between doctors and lawyers the doctors have the upper hand – if you’re keeping score by counting campaign contributions.
A proposed initiative to change the non-economic damages cap under the Medical Injury Compensation Reform Act (MICRA) while also requiring drug and alcohol testing for doctors is in the process of gathering signatures for a ballot try. Both sides in the fight reported their year-end financial status. While the proponents raised $1.2 million up until the end of last year with $374,000 in the bank, the opponents say they are sitting on $31 million dollars, much in loans.