Dean Baker for Truthout: The economy doesn't get a gold star for a balanced budget or lower deficit. In fact, lower deficits can inflict devastating damage on the economy by reducing demand, leading to millions of workers becoming unemployed.
Net neutrality backers in Congress are still struggling to compile enough votes to repeal Ajit Pai's new rules, despite the fact that they are deeply unpopular.
Candice Bernd is an editor/staff reporter at Truthout. Her work has also appeared in several other publications, including The Nation, In These Times, the Texas Observer, Salon, YES! Magazine, Z Magazine, AlterNet and Earth Island Journal, as well as in Truthout's anthology on police violence, Who Do You Serve, Who Do You Protect? She received the Dallas Peace and Justice Center's "Media Accountability of the Year" award in December 2016. Follow her on Twitter: @CandiceBernd.