5 Reasons for New Year’s Optimism in 2026 - Rob Horowitz
Rob Horowitz, MINDSETTER™
5 Reasons for New Year’s Optimism in 2026 - Rob Horowitz
This year, I do the same. It remains the nature of news and opinion writing that positive developments get short shrift.
As we are about to begin 2026, 5 reasons for optimism are outlined below:
· Despite the Trump administration’s heat-up-the-planet-anyway-possible approach to energy, the global transition to non-carbon-producing renewable energy continues apace. “Solar and wind grew fast enough to meet all new electricity demand globally in the first three quarters of 2025, according to UK-based energy think tank Ember,” reported Bloomberg Green. “That means renewable capacity is set to hit a new record globally this year, with Ember forecasting an 11% increase from 2024.”
· Violent crime continues its pronounced decline. The number of murders nationally dropped 20% in 2025, according to the Real Crime Index. This follows a 10% reduction in each of the two previous years. There was also a continuing marked decline in other violent crimes as well as property crimes. Cities throughout our nation are adopting effective crime-fighting strategies, including putting more police officers in our neighborhoods and training them in evidence-based, community policing, taking illegal guns off the streets, and investing in after-school and other programs that have been shown to prevent crime.
· We are making painstaking, fitful progress in curbing the opioid epidemic, but progress, nonetheless. While doctors and dentists are still writing too many opioid painkiller prescriptions--about 100 million annually--the numbers are declining each year and are now less than half the domestic peak of 260 million. The introduction of prescription non-opioid pain medication, as well as more awareness of other effective non-opioid pain treatments by medical professionals and patients, is likely to result in an acceleration of this positive trend. This is among the reasons that, despite the prevalence of deadly fentanyl and other dangerous synthetic opioids, overdose deaths are markedly declining from more than 100,000 several years ago to 76,000 in the most recently measured 12 months. (Full disclosure: I consult on this issue for Prevent Opioid Abuse, Opioid Education Foundation of American and Council to Prevent Opioid Dependence.)
· There is mounting and increasingly effective pushback on President Trump’s vigorous moves to act on his authoritarian instincts. The Supreme Court recently rejected his use of national guard troops in American cities over the objections of a state’s governor, lower federal courts have thrown out the presidentially-ordered indictments of his political enemies, James Comey and Letitia James, and Harvard and a number of other universities continue to stand up against the administration’s unprecedented impingement on academic freedom despite the risk to their federal funding. And the most important check of all, the American public is rejecting Mr. Trump’s overall job performance, giving him record low overall job approval and by overwhelming majorities disapproving of his most extreme authoritarian actions, such as deporting people without any due process, ordering up the prosecutions of his political opponents, and threatening the broadcast licenses of networks that have programming critical of him. This is beginning to embolden Republicans in Congress to actually do their job and not simply serve as a rubber stamp for all presidential encroachments on their constitutional responsibilities and powers. While President Trump in his second term still poses the most serious threat to our democracy in the modern era, our democracy is demonstrating its resilience.
· As a Giants fan, I can be confident that my team will improve in 2026. This is, of course, a low bar: the Giants are 3-13. In fact, the Giants may have a major comeback year. With a promising rookie QB in Jaxson Dart, a good, young running back, and a great wide receiver coming back from season-ending injuries, some true defensive studs, and a high 1st round draft pick, the Giants are positioned for success in 2026--or so says perhaps this too optimistic fan.