Lawrence J. White was interviewed on the Australian television channel ABC about the US debt deal.

What happens if the US doesn't pay on a contract that is coming due, let alone being unable to pay its bond holders? We don't want to think about that. I mean, that's just too horrendous to think about, and yet, given the political uncertainties in Washington and the Democrats versus Republicans and the Congress versus the President, it could happen, and that's the scary part.