WHEN: TODAY, FRIDAY, MARCH 10 AT 9:30AM ET
WHERE: CNBC'S "SQUAWK ON THE STREET"
Following is the unofficial transcript of a FIRST ON CNBC interview with National Economic Council Director Gary Cohn on CNBC's "Squawk on the Street" today. Following is a link to video of the interview on CNBC.com: http://video.cnbc.com/gallery/?video=3000600233.
All references must be sourced to CNBC.
QUINTANILLA: LET'S BRING IN GARY COHN IN ON THE NEWS OF THE DAY FROM THE WHITE HOUSE. LABOR DEPARTMENT SAYS 235,000 JOBS IS THE NUMBER FOR FEBRUARY. GARY, GOOD TO HAVE YOU BACK ON THE SHOW. GOOD MORNING.
COHN: GOOD MORNING, CARL. THANKS FOR HAVING ME.
QUINTANILLA: JIM JUST USED THE GOLDILOCKS TERM. FIRST TIME I'VE HEARD THAT TODAY. YOU GOING TO GO ALONG WITH THAT?
COHN: SURE, WHY NOT? I THINK IT WAS A PERFECT NUMBER. RIGHT EXACTLY WHERE IT NEEDED TO BE. OUR JOBS PLAN AND OUR JOBS CREATION AND BRINGING JOBS BACK TO AMERICA IS GOING EXACTLY THE WAY WE'D LIKE IT TO GO. WHEN I WAS ON A MONTH AGO WE TALKED ABOUT BRINGING JOBS BACK. I THINK THIS NUMBER REAFFIRMS EVERYTHING THAT WE'RE TRYING TO
QUINTANILLA: HOW MUCH OF IT IS POTUS AND WHITE HOUSE? HOW MUCH OF IT WOULD YOU LEGITIMATELY SAY IS MINIMAL SNOWFALL, WARM WEATHER, A GOOD FEBRUARY?
COHN: LOOK, THERE'S CLEARLY A GOOD FEBRUARY AS PART OF THE NUMBER. I'M NOT GOING TO DENY THAT, BUT ON THE OTHER HAND WHEN YOU LOOK AT WHAT WE'VE BEEN DOING HERE AT THE WHITE HOUSE AND ALL OF THE CEOs THAT WE'VE BROUGHT IN WHETHER IT BE EXXON OR SPRINT OR INTEL, THEY'VE PROMISED ENORMOUS AMOUNT OF JOBS AND JOB CREATION IN THE UNITED STATES. THOSE HIRINGS HAVE NOT BEEN DONE YET. THOSE ARE FUTURE HIRINGS. SO WE'RE STILL LIVING ON THE HIRINGS FROM THE NORMALIZED ECONOMIC GROWTH THAT'S BUILT INTO THE SYSTEM HERE. SO WHEN YOU LOOK AT WHAT'S AHEAD OF US AND WHAT'S BUILT IN THE SYSTEM WE HAVE A HUGE BACKLOG OF HIRING THAT WE ALREADY KNOW ABOUT IN THE NORMAL RUN RATE OF THE ECONOMY. SO WE'RE VERY EXCITED ABOUT WHAT'S AHEAD OF US.
CRAMER: ALL RIGHT, GARY, JIM. WE'VE GOT THIS DEBT CEILING I KNOW WE HAVE GOT ALWAYS CONCERNS ABOUT DEBT. ALWAYS WORRIED ABOUT THE BORDER TAX. HOW ABOUT THIS? I'LL LET YOU TAKE CREDIT IF YOU GO WITH IT. WE NEED A MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN 50-YEAR SAVINGS BOND, $1 TRILLION TO FIX OUR INFRASTRUCTURE. GARY, WHY SHOULDN'T WE DO THAT? YOU KNOW BONDS, COME ON, 3.16 ON THE TEN, THE WORLD IS STARVED FOR 50-YEAR U.S. GOVERNMENT PAPER BACKED BY THE FULL FAITH AND CREDIT. COULD YOU PLEASE GIVE US THAT SAVINGS BOND?
COHN: JIM, WE'LL WORK TOGETHER ON THAT ONE, HOW'S THAT? I DON'T NEED CREDIT. WE CAN WORK TOGETHER ON IT. I'M HAPPY TO BE YOUR PARTNER IN THIS ONE, BUT WE AGREE WITH YOU. WE HAD A LARGE GROUP IN HERE TWO DAYS AGO INTO THE WHITE HOUSE TALKING ABOUT INFRASTRUCTURE, TALKING ABOUT THE ENORMOUS NEEDS. WE HAVE UNDERINVESTED IN OUR INFRASTRUCTURE FOR THE LAST 50 OR 60 YEARS IN THE UNITED STATES. WE HAVE ENORMOUS OPPORTUNITY RIGHT NOW, AND JIM, AS YOU POINT OUT, WE CAN ISSUE ENORMOUS AMOUNT OF DEBT IN THE 50-YEAR AND 100-YEAR SEGMENT TO FINANCE DEBT. I'M NOT EVEN SURE HOW MUCH DEBT WE NEED TO FINANCE. THERE'S AN ENORMOUS AMOUNT OF CAPITAL IN THE SYSTEM LOOKING FOR LONG DURATION ASSETS IN THE UNITED STATES. WE HAVE ENORMOUS AMOUNT OF LONG DURATION ASSETS WITH REAL REVENUE ATTACHED TO THEM IN THE INFRASTRUCTURE WORLD. WE ARE GOING TO GO REBUILD THOSE ASSETS, WE'RE GOING TO DO IT IN PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS, WE'RE GOING TO DO AS MUCH AS WE CAN IN A VARIETY OF DIFFERENT FINANCING MECHANISMS. IT'S NOT ALL GOING ON THE GOVERNMENT'S BALANCE SHEET. IN FACT, WE'RE GOING TO DO IT AS EFFICIENTLY AS WE POSSIBLY CAN WITHOUT USING THE GOVERNMENT'S BALANCE SHEET.
FABER: GARY, ANOTHER IMPORTANT INITIATIVE OF COURSE UNDERTAKEN BY THE ADMINISTRATION IS TAX REFORM. LAST TIME YOU WERE ON I ASKED YOU ABOUT IT, YOU DIDN'T REALLY GIVE AN ANSWER IN TERMS OF WHERE THE ADMINISTRATION STANDS ON A BORDER ADJUSTMENT TAX, WHICH IS SUCH A KEY PART OF IT. BUT I'LL ASK AGAIN.
COHN: OKAY.
FABER: IS THE ADMINISTRATION IN FAVOR OF OR AGAINST A BORDER ADJUSTMENT TAX?
COHN: WELL, I'M GOING TO GIVE YOU THE SAME ANSWER I GAVE YOU A MONTH AGO. SO IF YOU WANT ME TO DO THAT, WE'LL GO AHEAD AND DO THAT. WE'RE EXPLORING ALL OPPORTUNITIES IN TAXES. WE WANT TO PROTECT AMERICAN JOBS. WE REALLY DO. AS WE STARTED OUT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT JOBS TODAY, IT'S JOBS FRIDAY. WE WANT TO BRING JOBS BACK TO AMERICA. WE WANT TO BRING MANUFACTURING JOBS BACK TO AMERICA. SO ANYTHING WE CAN DO TO INCENTIVIZE MANUFACTURERS TO COME BACK TO AMERICA, THAT'S IMPORTANT TO US. THAT SAID, TAXES IS JUST ONE OF THE TOOLS WE HAVE AT OUR DISPOSAL. RIGHT NOW I THINK YOU ALL KNOW WE'RE ACTIVELY INVOLVED IN HEALTH CARE AND HEALTH CARE REFORM. WHEN WE GET DONE WITH HEALTH CARE REFORM WE ARE GOING TO GET TO TAXES. WE ARE ACTIVELY WORKING ON A VARIETY OF DIFFERENT TAX ALTERNATIVES. AND WE WILL PRESENT A TAX PLAN WHEN WE'RE DONE WITH HEALTH CARE.
FABER: SO WE'RE GOING TO GET AN ANSWER FROM YOU GUYS AT SOME POINT, I WOULD ASSUME, IN TERMS OF THE SPECIFICS ON THAT BORDER ADJUSTMENT TAX AND/OR WHAT YOU'RE GOING TO DO TO REPLACE IT IF YOU DON'T LIKE IT TO KEEP THE RATE LOW BUT NOT BUST THE DEFICIT? OR DO YOU NOT CARE? I MEAN, IS THAT A VIEW OF THE ADMINISTRATION THOUGH, GARY, THAT MAYBE, YOU KNOW WHAT, FORGET ABOUT THE DEFICIT, LET'S JUST GET TAX REFORM THROUGH REGARDLESS OF THE REVENUE RAISERS THAT MAY NEED TO BE A PART OF IT?
COHN: NO, NO, WE DO CARE. WE DO CARE. WE CARE ABOUT THE DEFICIT. WE CARE ABOUT REVENUE. WE CARE ABOUT WHAT'S GOING ON. WE'RE GOING TO MOST LIKELY –WE ARE GOING TO ABSOLUTELY DO TAXES UNDER RECONCILIATION. WE'RE GOING TO HAVE TO BE DEFICIT NEUTRAL OVER A TEN-YEAR PERIOD. YES, WE WILL BE ABLE TO USE DYNAMIC SCORING. AND WE THINK WE'VE GOT SOME OPPORTUNITIES TO DO THAT AND DO IT IN A VERY CONSTRUCTIVE WAY FOR U.S. CONSUMERS, FOR U.S. INDUSTRY, FOR EVERYONE AS A WHOLE. WE ARE WORKING ON A BUNCH OF REALLY INTERESTING IDEAS TO REFORM THE TAX SYSTEM IN THE UNITED STATES.
CRAMER: GARY, PUT YOUR OLD GOLDMAN SACHS ON. STOCK MARKET –
COHN: JIM, I'M NOT – JIM, I'M NOT ALLOWED TO DO THAT.
CRAMER: ALRIGHT. FORGET GOLDMAN. FORGET GOLDMAN. WHATEVER. THAT WAS A GREAT PLACE TO WORK FOR A COUPLE OF WEEKS. THIS TRILLION – THIS STOCK MARKET – $2 TRILLION IN WEALTH. HOW IMPORTANT IS THE STOCK MARKET TO THIS WHITE HOUSE?
COHN: LOOK, THE STOCK MARKET IS IMPORTANT TO US, BUT IT'S JUST ONE OF THE BAROMETERS THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT. WE LOOK AT THE STOCK MARKET EVERY DAY, BUT WE LOOK AT THE EMPLOYMENT DATA, WE'RE LOOKING AT GDP DATA, WE'RE LOOKING AND TALKING TO CEOs EVERY DAY ABOUT WHAT THEY'RE SEEING IN THEIR BUSINESS, ABOUT WHAT THEY'RE HIRING NEEDS ARE, WHAT THEIR OPPORTUNITIES ARE, WHERE THEY SEE OPPORTUNITIES FOR US IN AMERICA. SO, LOOK, THE STOCK MARKET IS A BAROMETER. THE NICE THING ABOUT THE STOCK MARKET IT'S A FAIRLY REALTIME BAROMETER FOR US, SO WE DO LOOK AT IT.
QUINTANILLA: GARY, SPEAKING OF THE DATA, WE'VE HAD THE PRESIDENT DURING THE CAMPAIGN AND BEFORE CAST DISPERSIONS ON THE VERACITY, THE LEGITIMACY, OF SOME DATA, INCLUDING BLS. DOES HE BELIEVE IT NOW?
COHN: LOOK, WE LOOK AT ALL DATA. WE ARE VERY DATA DRIVEN. IN THE NEC, WHERE I WORK AND WHERE I'M THE DIRECTOR, MY TEAM LOOKS AT ENORMOUS AMOUNT OF DATA. WE'RE EVALUATING WHAT'S GOING ON IN THE ECONOMY ALL THE TIME. WE'RE TRYING TO DRIVE THE ADMINISTRATION TO THE RIGHT PLACE AND MAKE THE RIGHT DECISIONS.
FABER: GARY, REAL QUICKLY, IT'S A JOBS DAY. YOU MENTIONED RIGHT AT THE TOP THE PRESIDENT'S POLICIES HELPING TO CREATE JOBS IN THE FUTURE. BUT SOME WOULD SAY, YOU KNOW WHAT, THE PROMISES THAT HAVE BEEN MADE BY CORPORATIONS, MANY OF THEM WERE IN THE PLANNING STAGES ALREADY. AND REALLY WHEN YOU ADD THE NUMBERS UP, THEY DON'T EVEN ADD UP TO WHAT WE SAW THIS MONTH IN TERMS OF JOB GROWTH, OR LAST MONTH, 235,000. HOW DO YOU RESPOND TO THOSE WHO SAY IT'S STILL NOT REALLY SOMETHING THAT WE NECESSARILY CAN SEE AS A LONG TERM ANSWER IN TERMS OF JOB GROWTH?
COHN: WELL, I WOULD COMPLETELY DISAGREE WITH THAT. WE'VE HAD MANY CEOs AND I'VE BEEN INVOLVED IN THESE MEETINGS, I'VE BEEN INTIMATELY INVOLVED IN THESE MEETINGS – MANY CEOs HAVE WALKED IN AND SPECIFICALLY SAID TO US AND SAID TO THE PRESIDENT THAT WITHOUT YOU BEING IN THE WHITE HOUSE AND WITHOUT YOUR POLICIES AND WITHOUT YOUR REFORM AGENDA, WITHOUT YOUR TAX AGENDA, WE WOULD NOT BE BUILDING THESE FACILITIES HERE IN THE UNITED STATES. SO I'D START WITH THAT. NUMBER TWO, IT'S NOT JUST THE JOBS THAT THEY'RE COMMITTING TO. REMEMBER, FOR EVERY JOB YOU BRING IN TO THESE SPECIFIC FACILITIES, THERE'S ALL TYPE OF ANCILLARY JOBS. THERE'S SUPPLIERS FOR THESE FACILITIES. THERE'S SERVICES FOR THESE FACILITIES. THERE'S AN ENORMOUS TRICKLE DOWN EFFECT IN JOB CREATION WHEN YOU BRING BACK THESE BIG MANUFACTURING FACILITIES TO THE UNITED STATES. SO WE'RE VERY EXCITED, NOT JUST ABOUT THE FACILITIES, BUT ALL OF THE ANCILLARY JOBS THAT ARE CREATED BY THIS.
QUINTANILLA: GARY, WE KNOW YOU'VE GOT TO RUN. WE LOOK FORWARD TO NEXT MONTH. GOOD TO SEE YOU AGAIN.
COHN: THANK YOU VERY MUCH. AND, JIM, I CAN'T WAIT TO SHARE CREDIT WITH YOU ON THE INFRASTRUCTURE.
CRAMER: FAIR ENOUGH. CRAMER-COHN. NO, NO. COHN-CRAMER.
COHN: WHATEVER YOU WANT, JIM.
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