Lower tariffs combined with an improved regulatory environment could be good for business this year, says Shane Patrick Connolly. Locally, however, he wonders if voters will finally push back against Santa Clara County’s “moribund” yet tax-ravenous government. An Opportunity Now exclusive forecast for 2026.

Realtor Mark Burns worries Santa Clara County will keep hiking taxes instead of containing expenses, while realtor Gina Tse-Louie argues that voters’ rights have been systematically dismantled by the state government. She hopes an initiative to address the “death tax” will make it on the ballot this year. An Opportunity Now exclusive look ahead to 2026.

Unelected transit and housing bodies are scheming for more control, but the Plan Bay Area 2050+ has serious problems. So says Former Palo Alto Mayor Lydia Kou, who argues that along with its 37 negative environmental impacts, the PBA 2050+ can’t be paid for without more borrowing and higher taxes. An Opportunity Now exclusive 2026 forecast.

As the Bay Area’s most vulnerable are pushed further to the brink by a fraying safety net this year, regional planners will flail about for unworkable fixes. So says Susan Kirsch of Catalysts for Local Control, who argues that, instead of supporting Plan Bay Area 2050+, which uses fantastical population predictions, local leaders should restore local control. An Opportunity Now exclusive 2026 prediction.

Sacramento and local governments have long relied on the glories of the Golden State to get away with “unpredictable” tax policy: HJTA’s Susan Shelley asks if Silicon Valley tech founders have finally had enough. In this Opportunity Now exclusive prediction, she warns of a “bumpy ride” in 2026 that could “shake up the status quo.”

While New York’s dubious political pivot threatens compounding deterioration of basic civic services, Manhattan Institute fellow Tim Rosenberger argues that SF is enjoying a “quiet return of talent and capital.” But is The City’s “renewed seriousness about law and order” real? An Opportunity Now exclusive 2026 prediction.