Instead of Leadership, We Have Partisanship...
May 30, 2026
The more (less?) things change, the more they remain the same. The war with Iran has not been concluded, the stalemate between the sides unresolved . And yet, despite the headwinds of war, and the consequent rising inflation, stock markets continue higher. Companies with positive AI stories don’t just rise, they surge higher. It is an unusually confounding investment environment. I do not have much new to add to what I have written previously. So, instead of reiterating the risks, and the need for caution, let’s stroll along a related, though different, path.
It is a time of extremes in the US: extreme threats - ‘a whole civilization will die tonight’ (Trump 4/7/26); extreme financial events - an IPO valuing a company with $16 billion in revenues at $1.8 trillion (SpaceX); extreme individual financial fortunes – a $265 million purchase price for a NYC apartment; extreme stock moves – Dell Technologies, a company already valued at $200 billion Thursday, increased in value by 33%, over $70 billion,…on Friday; extremely rapid technological progress – do you really need an example?; and extreme partisanship – mid-cycle gerrymandering maneuvers by both major parties in numerous states is just one example.
Outcomes in the extreme often lead to extreme overreactions. In the markets, that inevitably presages a significant correction and a stomach-churning drop in prices. In technology, it leads to progress and also to unintended/unexpected consequences. In societies, it has lead to revolutions when the extreme wealth of the few angers the many more who are struggling to make ends meet. In politics, it leads to legal vengeance, undoing the previous partisan activities while initiating new ones.
I find this all both unsettling and worrisome. The world faces climate problems, geopolitical conflicts, inequality, poverty concerns, pockets of starvation, an increasing scarcity of resources, issues managing lightning quick advances in technology, and is doing so with a paucity of global, humanitarian leadership. The US, which aspired to, and seemingly held, that mantle, has withdrawn most of its foreign aid and seemingly abandoned the UN. The latter was not a perfect institution by any means, but at least a forum for the world to gather and communicate. Instead of trying to provide leadership, we bicker in extreme partisanship amongst ourselves. The Secretary General of the UN used to be a position that commanded respect and produced real engagement amongst the world powers. Without meaningful US participation, the post has lost any authority it might have retained. The lack of true global leadership and engagement leads to conflict – both political and economic – at a time when cooperation would seem to be required and beneficial.
The US has its own raft of issues – homelessness, economic inequality, people without adequate food resources, a contentious immigration problem, and a ballooning national debt. The eventual reckoning with that financial problem could prove calamitous and certainly hugely impactful. It will require true leadership, people who understand that compromise is essential and healthy, that governing effectively requires understanding and addressing the needs of the entire community. The current state of affairs, rewarding your friends and punishing your opponents, is not responsible government.
Government is not a zero-sum game. Partisan, all-or-nothing outcomes are not effective nor are they likely to endure. The current partisanship is troubling on so many fronts. It is corroding our democratic principles. It often encompasses an embarrassing display of pettiness and mean-spiritedness. It is an enormous waste of energy, time, and money. And it is a great distraction from the responsibilities that the politicians were elected to carry out – namely governing, solving the problems involved in the management of a tremendously successful, and yet also flawed, country. We need real leadership. Where are the statesmen and stateswomen necessary to handle the job? The lack of same is lamentable and disheartening.
OK, I’m down from the soapbox. Dissatisfaction with the current state of affairs does not mean I am lamenting progress, wishing for the ‘good old days’ which, as everyone knows, were rarely as good as they are remembered. That said, the link below is to a wonderful story from the good old days about parachuting beavers into wilderness and achieving all manner of environmental benefits. What…parachuting beavers? Yes indeed. Read it and enjoy the pleasure of a story of a wildly inventive, and ultimately successful, environmental endeavor.
https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/articles/idaho-once-parachuted-76-beavers-133200879.html