Last week, as the lapse of federal food assistance benefits overwhelmed Central Texas food banks, Tesla shareholders approved a pay package that could make Austin’s wealthiest resident, Elon Musk — already the richest person on the planet — the world’s first trillionaire. The split-screen moment could not be more stark: While Musk celebrated by dancing alongside one of Tesla’s Optimus humanoid robots, 42 million Americans — including 3.5 million Texans — who receive Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits wondered where their next meal would come from.
The pay package, the tax breaks, the evident disregard for Americans who struggle to meet basic needs — these issues should all inform how we cast ballots in 2026. As voters head to the polls next year, they should be mindful of whether the candidates they choose will work to ease or exacerbate these disparities. Texans deserve leaders who are dedicated to solving the problems they face.
Although a private citizen, Musk wields extraordinary influence over other people’s lives, both in the U.S. and abroad. More than 300,000 Americans lost their jobs in the federal workforce as part of his Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) cost-cutting initiative — the leading cause of all U.S. job losses in 2025. Far worse, a Boston University study has estimated, Musk-guided cuts to the U.S. Agency for International Development have caused hundreds of thousands of preventable deaths worldwide from malnutrition and infectious diseases — a poverty of values from the wealthiest nation on Earth.
Musk has said “life cannot just be about solving one miserable problem after another.” It’s his argument for doing “things that inspire you and that make you glad to wake up in the morning and be part of humanity.”
For some, helping others in need by solving problems is the inspiration that gets them out of bed in the morning. The United States was once that leader on the world stage, compassionate and charitable to the world’s sick and starving. And despite our political divides, Americans have always looked out for neighbors in need, from those afflicted by floods and other natural disasters to those seeking help at the food bank.
Leadership isn’t about flaunting obscene wealth; it’s about creating a society that lives up to the nation’s ideals of equality, opportunity and fairness. Each election tests whether we still believe in those values. The question for 2026 is simple: Will we choose leaders who do?