AP Gov. Jon Corzine of New Jersey

WHEN: March 13th at 2PM ET
WHERE: CNBC's "Street Signs"

Following is the unofficial transcript of a CNBC exclusive interview with New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine on CNBC's "Street Signs." During the interview, Corzine discusses whether he believes the U.S. is in a recession and his thoughts on whether Bernanke and Paulson went far enough, among other topics.

All references must be sourced to CNBC.

Burnett: YOU'RE SORT OF THE HAMMER HERE. CAN YOU GET THIS DONE?

Gov. Corzine: WELL, WHAT IS GETTING IT DONE? PAYING DOWN DEBT, CUTTING SPENDING, GETTING US INTO A POSITION BR WE HAVE A LONG-TERM SOLUTION TO A STRUCTURAL PROBLEM? WE'VE GOT THIS COMPLICATION THAT

YOU GUYS TALK ABOUT ALL OF THE TIME ON CNBC.WE'RE IN A RECESSION, IN MY VIEW, AND THAT IS CUTTING REVENUES COMING IN TO NOT ONLY NEW JERSEY, BUT ALL STATES AND MAKING THE PROBLEM A LOT WORSE. SO WE REALLY HAVE TWO ISSUES. ONE, SPENDING -- LIKE I SAY OVER A LONG PERIOD OF TIME COVERED UP WITH A LOT OF BORROWING, THAT, WE NEED TO FIX, BUT WE ALSO HAVE THE PROBLEM THAT WE'VE SEEN VERY RAPIDLY DECLINING REVENUES AND THAT'S A PROBLEM.

Burnett: VERY RAPIDLY DECLINING REVENUES. I KNOW YOU'VE SPOKEN ABOUT A RECESSION, BUT VERY RAPIDLY DECLINING. DOES THAT MEAN THINGS ARE GETTING SIGNIFICANTLY BORS? HOW BAD IS IT?

Gov. Corzine: WE'RE SEEING, FOR INSTANCE, SHIPMENTS AT THE PORT DOWN 15%, NEW YORK-NEW JERSEY PORT.WE'RE SEEING EMPLOYMENT GROWTH FALL OFF, THE FIRST MONTH OF THE YEAR OVER 9,000 JOBS LOST IN NEW JERSEY. THAT IS A PROBLEM. THOSE THINGS ARE CUMULATIVE WHEN YOU GET THE SAME NEGATIVE VALUE IN HOMES. SO YOU'RE SEEING OUR SALES TAX COLLECTIONS GO DOWN AND WE THINK

WE WILL SEE, BECAUSE OF THE SLOWDOWN ON WALL STREET, A DECLINE IN EARNINGS BY A LOT OF THE PEOPLE WHO WORK IN THE NORTHERN HALF OF THE STATE. WE'RE VERY DEPENDENT ON THE FINANCIAL SERVICES INDUSTRY. SO WE'RE NOT -- WE WANT TO BE OPTIMISTIC, BUT I CAN'T BE TOO MUCH ON REVENUE GROWTH THIS YEAR.

Burnett: DO YOU BUY THE SECOND HALF RECOVERY?

Gov. Corzine: YOU KNOW, I'M ENOUGH REMOVED FROM ALL THESE ISSUES TO SAY THAT I WASN'T THAT GOOD AT THAT TIME WHEN I WAS ON WALL STREET, AND I WOULD THINK WE WERE GOING TO GO A LITTLE DEEPER JUST BECAUSE ENERGY PRICES ARE GOING UP. THERE'S ACTUALLY STAGFLATION. HEALTH CARE COSTS ARE GOING UP AND ENERGY PRICES ARE GOING UP AND FOOD PRICES ARE GOING UP SO PEOPLE ARE GETTING SDWEEZED AT THE SAIL TIME THAT THERE'S A FALL OFF IN EMPLOYMENT AND SOME OF THE OTHER ISSUES AND STATES ARE GOING HAVE TO CUT BACK OR RAISE TAXES. ONE OR THE OTHER.

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