As the Nov. 23 deadline approaches for the congressional “super committee” to offer a deficit reduction proposal, the public continues to rank the budget deficit second to the job situation among its top national economic concerns. [...] Public concern over the job situation trumps concerns about the deficit, rising prices, and the financial and housing markets. Nearly half (47%) say the job situation is the national economic issue that most worries them, up from 39% in July. The second most cited worry is the budget deficit (22%), although fewer now say this than did so this summer. Smaller percentages name rising prices (13%) or problems in the financial and housing markets (12%) as their biggest economic concern.

As you can see from the chart at the top of the post, even Republicans rank jobs first. That's a return to where things stood late last year, but it's a big shift from the spring, when jobs growth appeared to be picking up and the possibility of a government shutdown dominated the news.

But no matter what the country wants or even what Republican voters want, congressional Republicans continue to be hell bent on putting austerity ahead of economic growth. The latest example: John Boehner's refusal to use any portion of war drawdown savings to boost job creation.

Boehner defends his refusal by invoking the need to reduce the deficit, but the thing he ignores is that the single best way to reduce the deficit is to get the economy going again. Not only does economic growth increase revenue, it also decreases spending on safety net programs as people return to the workforce. But instead of pursuing that proven and simple and obvious formula, Boehner and his crew are committed to chasing the economy down the drain. They're making a terrible mistake.