Blankfein, Simpson, and Bowles Call for Action on Nation's Deficit: Complete CNBC Video and Transcript

BOWLES : The American people are way ahead of their politicians.

SIMPSON : They're way ahead.

BOWLES : Way ahead of the politicians. They know we've got a problem. And they want those politicians to stand up and get the job done. For generations, we've asked our politicians to bring home the bacon. Well, the pig is dead.

BLANKFEIN : We've done this before in our history, Steve. You know, you think about— you know, this— the current period always gets analogized to The Great Depression and the aftermath. You know, in The Great Depression, there was a war between the President Roosevelt and business interests. And you think of all those— all those changes, the F— you know, the trials, the hearings, everything else, the SEC was creation. And all that pressure, malefactors of great wealth, the accusation that flew. But once there was the kind of a whiff of— of a national crisis, you know, war in Europe, way before the war, but when you start— people started to feel it, there was a pivot. And I remember, at the time, Roosevelt called in— people he'd previously called plutocrats and malefactors of great wealth, and they had a meeting. And the United States went from a country that had no arsenal at all to within a couple of years be— being so productive that it could not only arm itself but become the arsenal for every other country in the world. That was an incredible feat of partnership and productivity. And I look— I hope that at the end of this election, without having such a grievous national crisis as occurred in the late '30s and the early '40s, that we can get to the same place.

LIESMAN : Okay, that's a great place to leave it. Lloyd Blankfein, Erskine Bowles, Senator Simpson— thank you very much for your time.