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.
Why the California Policy Center Opposes Government Unions
The California Policy Center, established in 2013, exists to expose and undermine the destructive power of government unions. Most Californians still don’t understand the threat these unions represent to the integrity of our democracy, the agenda of our politicians, and the solvency of our public institutions.
Government unions, sometimes also referred to as public sector unions, have very little in common with unions that represent employees in the private sector. While there is debate over what sorts of regulations should govern private sector unions, there is general agreement that they have played a vital role in protecting the rights of workers. Government unions are completely different.
Unlike private sector unions, government unions do not have to be reasonable when they negotiate pay, benefits, and work rules. In the private sector, if a union demands too much, the company can become unprofitable and go out of business. But government unions operate in the public sector, where politicians can simply increase taxes and cut services in order to pay whatever the unions demand. (more…)
Newsom’s Woke Posturing Masks California’s Dismal Economic Record
If Hollywood were to cast a governor and future president, and if a straight white male were still politically acceptable, he would look like California’s Gavin Newsom. The 53-year-old governor, a former mayor of San Francisco, Newsom handsomely epitomizes the preening politics of the California elite class that has nurtured and financed his career from the beginning.
Like aristocrats of the past, Newsom seems oblivious to the realities felt by constituents among the lower orders. In the face of massive wildfires, he postures on climate change, conflating fires with an angry mother Earth—as opposed to poor land management—and uses the conflagration to justify a radical policy of switching to all-electric power over the next decade, with the elimination of gas-powered cars by 2035. In the midst of a near economic free-fall, he favors raising taxes and works to tighten pandemic lockdowns; and, with the state losing its ability to train workers, he backs an education system where almost three out of five California high schoolers graduate unprepared for either college or a career. (more…)
New LA County Virus Lockdown; Going to the Dogs
New coronavirus restrictions go into effect in Los Angeles County today and I’m left wondering if I can walk my dog in the park with other dog walkers. Coronavirus restrictions are more complicated than they appear at first blush; certainly more challenging for the populace that is supposed to obey them than for the bureaucrats who put them down on paper.
Consider the puzzlement of an L.A. bookstore owner who told a reporter about the new restrictions that will limit the number of people in her store, “Telling people to stay home but then also telling them to keep supporting small businesses—that’s kind of a Catch-22.”
The same can be said about my dog walking dilemma. Under the new restrictions, parks remain open. However, the edict advises all residents to stay home and always wear a mask when outside the household. (more…)
How Homebuyers Acknowledge COVID-19
Led by an increased interest among millennials, people are flooding new subdivisions where they are looking to upgrade their living situation. But, based on interviews, they are also leaving densely populated, downtown neighborhoods due to the COVID-19 scare.
That’s because the “smart growth” ideal of dense, urban-centric dwelling doesn’t square with the reality of home quarantines and the message these individuals are getting from the health-care spokespeople in government. “Keep away from other humans,” they’re saying. Accordingly, more and more people see suburban life as more practical and less harmful to their health and safety than the crowded downtown apartment living they are leaving behind.
The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) reports that “the pandemic has dramatically changed how most Americans view their homes.” The trade association representing the country’s homebuilders says now “the need for more spaces within a home for work, schooling and exercise have driven many to evaluate where they live” and could be making the homebuying market in the suburbs stronger in the wake of the COVID-19 outbreak. (more…)
Don’t Give Us Another Lockdown
Following a surge in confirmed cases of COVID-19, Ventura County last week was pushed back into the state’s most restrictive “purple tier.” Given the county’s poor economic performance before and during the coronavirus pandemic, we shudder at the prospect of a second government-mandated shutdown of the region’s economy.
Even before the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, Ventura County was experiencing a prolonged period of economic weakness. Beginning in 2013, the size of the county’s labor force contracted in each of seven consecutive years. The county’s economic growth slowed dramatically over the same period, from a post-Great Recession high of 4.8 percent in 2013 to less than 1 percent last year.
The most arresting sign of weakness is county population data. According to the California Department of Finance, in 2016 Ventura County’s population declined for the first time in the history for which we have data. The county’s population declined again and at a greater rate in 2018 and 2019. In 2019, population losses were spread across seven cities in the county. (more…)
Finding Your Irvine
Late in this year’s strangest California film, “Palm Springs,” middle-aged Roy (J.K. Simmons) sits in his Irvine backyard and advises Nyles (Andy Samberg) on coping with an apocalyptic reality.
“You’ve gotta find your Irvine,” says Roy, surveying his Orange County idyll.
“I don’t have an Irvine,” replies Nyles, who is in existential despair.
“We all have an Irvine,” Roy says.
The apocalypse, for Roy and Nyles, is the result of wandering into the wrong Coachella Cave, after which they find themselves stuck re-living the same day. Roy, furious at their “Groundhog Day” predicament, at first spends this endless time loop traveling to Palm Springs to torture and kill Nyles, over and over again. (more…)