The U.S. got a frightening wake-up call Monday.

And we’re not talking about Standard and Poors downgrading of long-term U.S. debt. That was bad enough.

Here’s what we need to worry about right now: Nearly 70 percent of Americans are opposed to lifting the nation’s debt ceiling.

We certainly understand the sentiment. We have been calling for spending and debt reduction on this page for more than a decade.

We certainly understand the frustration of the American people that president after president, and Congress after Congress, seem to compound the problem rather than solve it.

And we certainly believe the decision by Standard and Poors underlines the need for debt reduction sooner rather than later.

But there is a time to talk spending priorities, and it’s not on the eve of defaulting on the nation’s debt.

What 70 percent of Americans don’t understand is that doing so would have severe repercussions for our nation, our economy and our budding economic recovery. If it were to occur, we could all be paying higher interest rates on everything for years to come.

All of which explains the full-court educational campaign being waged by business and treasury officials as the default date approaches.

Of the most concern are newly elected tea party congressmen who are feeling constituent pressure to stage a political showdown on the issue and may not fully appreciate the gravity of such a move.

The Associated Press reported Tuesday that business leaders are conducting an intense lobbying campaign to bring them around.

“If the United States actually defaults on our debt it would be catastrophic,” Jamie Dimon, CEO of JPMorgan Chase & Co., warned at a recent Chamber of Commerce forum in Washington.

“If anyone wants to push that button . . . they’re crazy.”

He’s right. The U.S. has never defaulted on its debt, which means we have earned the trust of the world’s investors.

The benefit of that is substantial. Venezuela must pay the highest interest rates in the world, according to tradingeconomics.com, 18.24 percent. That’s because it is run by an untrustworthy egomaniac, Hugo Chavez.

The U.S., on the other hand, pays about .25 percent.

That’s not to say we would suddenly trade places with Venezuela.  But, when a nation is carrying a $14 trillion debt, even a slight increase would have a serious negative impact.

The United Kingdom and Hong Kong pay twice was much, .50 percent.  Even that rate would gradually double what we pay on our national debt.

Meanwhile, most other interest rates, from mortgages to automobiles, vary based upon various U.S. treasury rates. All would likely increase as a result, making it more expensive for everyone from home buyers to business leaders to invest.

There should be no doubt at this point that the U.S. has a long-term debt habit that must be broken. Voters should demand action before the 2012 election.

We should judge our next president, and our next Congress, by their ability to solve this problem.

In the meantime, we can’t play chicken with the debt ceiling. Raising it is really the only choice.

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

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