The United States has never defaulted on its national debt, so nobody can really say what will happen if we do.

But there are enough respected people, from economists to Wall Street managers, warning that the consequences will be grave enough that we should all hope not to find out.

The worst-case scenario shows interest rates jumping, costing the U.S. government, as well as ordinary Americans, billions of dollars in added interest expense over time.

That would be a painful, self-inflicted wound that would make our financial situation worse rather than better.

There are a variety of almost laughable ironies about the current debate, chief among them how Barack Obama lectured another president about the dangers of long-term debt.

As President George W. Bush sought to increase the debt ceiling in 2006, Obama was intent on making political points, just like Republicans are doing today.

“The fact that we are here today to debate raising America’s debt limit is a sign of leadership failure,” he thundered on the Senate floor.

He lamented that the U.S. government can’t pay its bills without the assistance of foreign governments. He worried that this weakened us “domestically and internationally.”

He fretted that we are passing the “burden of bad choices onto the backs of our children and grandchildren.”

Lastly, he asserted that “leadership means the buck stops here!”

Of course it meant nothing of the sort. Republicans raised the debt ceiling at their president’s request to accommodate their tax and spending priorities.

Obama now says he was young, inexperienced and made a mistake in 2006 by opposing the debt limit increase. And, of course, he’s now responsible for keeping the wheels of government turning.

But a number of other things have changed since he gave that speech in 2006. For one, we are struggling to recover from a brutal recession that has left millions of people unemployed and without health insurance, costing the federal government billions.

What’s more, with workers unemployed and businesses struggling, federal tax collections are way down, compounding the debt problem.

As big a danger as default would be, an agreement that cuts too much federal spending too quickly could be worse.

The federal debt was a long time in the making and it was created by Republicans and Democrats alike.

Cutting too much federal spending too quickly could easily tip the scales toward a feared “double dip” recession.

Already this year, millions of workers will run out of extended unemployment compensation benefits and federal stimulus programs are ending.

That means far fewer dollars available to spend on goods and services produced by American companies.

The nation was in this same position during the Great Depression when public outrage over government programs convinced Congress to cut federal spending just as the economy was beginning to recover in 1936.

The result was a secondary recession of 1936-1937 that left the U.S. economy struggling until the beginning of World War II.

Let’s hope we don’t make the same mistake again.

What’s needed now is a statesman-like compromise that spreads sacrifice and austerity as widely as possible.

Let’s hope we get it, and soon.

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The opinions expressed in this column reflect the views of the ownership and editorial board.