Progressive era is over, NYs leaky mega-budget and other commentary

Culture critic: Progressive Era Is Over“The decline of woke isn’t merely a ‘vibe shift,’” posits Eric Kaufmann at The Wall Street Journal.“It marks the end of the 60-year rise of left-liberalism in American culture.

We are entering a post-progressive era.” The cultural left’s push for “next-level DEI policies” sparked “an enduring antiwoke reaction.” Even “immigration attitudes have turned restrictionist after decades of liberalization.” “Confronted by this broad-based rejection, progressive activists have lost confidence and energy.” And making it worse is that “culturally inflected problems elude progressive solutions.” That has cost “cultural progressivism” considerable influence.So, yes, we’re “leaving the age of progressive confidence behind.” But what replaces it “as our cultural lodestar will become evident only in the fullness of time.”Eye on Albany: Our Leaky Mega-Budget“New York’s budget has sprung its first major leak just five days after being finalized,” chortles Empire Center’s Bill Hammond.

He notes a move by feds to close “a loophole in the Medicaid financing system” exploited by the state.Billions in increased Medicaid spending — plus $2 billion in “rate hikes” for providers — was predicated on revenue from the “newly enacted MCO tax.” The scheme allowed the state to “keep the federal matching aid as net revenue.” The amended rule allows the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to “start withholding federal matching funds for those taxes as soon as the regulation takes effect,” possibly this summer.

Without the MCO tax revenue, New York’s Medicaid “fiscal cliff appears to be just two or three months away.” Subscribe to our daily Post Opinion newsletter! Please provide a valid email address.By clicking above you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

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