RogerDucky says:

Wow. Pete Stark apparently has no idea how to explain it, because he doesn’t know the theory behind it either and just wanted to shout the interviewer down in an attempt to not look stupid.

Basic premise:
Since the government will only take on an amount of debt proportional to how much it can pay back in interest, the heavier the apparent debt load, the better the economy is.

Also:
When a country’s economy appears more stable, foreign bond investors are more likely to want to buy that country’s bonds — higher demand = lower interest rate. So, when debt is accrued during times of economic boom, it’s possible to get a overall lower repayment than when it’s done when people aren’t as sure about the government’s financial health. In other words — better credit rating = lower interest rates, so you might be able to get a bigger loan for the same monthly payment amount.

That wasn’t so hard to explain, was it?

Winston Smith says:

This Video Is going to give me nightmare.

Terry says:

This is an old interview. Jan claims the national debt is only $5 trillion, and seems alarmed at that figure, while Stark doesn’t appear to think it is anything to be concerned about. Check the National Debt clock at http://www.usdebtclock.org/ to find out what it is today.

I live in Pete Stark’s district and he’s “my” congressman, though I’ve never voted for him in my entire life. Yes, he was a banker before he ran for office, but that doesn’t mean he understands money and finance at all. He’s been in Washington since 1973 and is one of those “lifetime” politicians who will never lose another election because the district has been gerrymandered to secure it for any Democratic candidate who runs. It just so happens that Stark runs essentially unopposed every year because it makes no sense for anyone to challenge him. He is notoriously rude to journalists because he knows he will never lose an election, so he doesn’t have to pretend to be civil to anyone.

I have been in political forums with him and several other candidates, and he is always condescending like this. He rarely appears at any campaign event that isn’t choreographed by his staff, or if he appears at a League of Women Voters event, it is usually at a senior citizens center where he is popular for his longstanding support of social security and medicare or at a university where he knows the left-leaning students will not dare to challenge him or, if anyone does, he can dismiss them as idiots and never suffer any political damage.