BOE Head: Congress Should Do the Right Thing

Hopatcong School Board President Cliff Lundin said it's hard to predict what would happen if the U.S. government defaults—but it wouldn't be a good thing.

Patch is checking in with local leaders all over the country to ask what they think will happen in their communities if the powers that be can't strike a debt-ceiling deal, and the U.S. government defaults.

Lundin's answer: Interest rates would spike, the economy would falter, and it would have all been avoidable. He said he believes compromise is possible, and should happen—and added local governing bodies like the school board have to keep their own finances in order, while the federal government's pushed off obligations for years.

What do you think? The Aug. 2 deadline, after which the government can't pay all of it's bills, is fast approaching. Will Congress and President Obama work out a deal before the first-ever American federal government default? Tell us in the comments.