Who's going to be the leader of the financial world in the role of Treasury Secretary under President Obama? It may be Democratic New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine, who has pushed for an additional economic stimulus package to the tune of $300 billion to support infrastructure projects.
CNBC's Carl Quintanilla asked Corzine outright on "Squawk Box" if he would accept a job in the Obama administration as Treasury Secretary. "If it's offered, governor, will you say no?" Quintanilla asked.
"You know, I'm not going to say never to anything," Corzine said Nov. 5.
"Squawk Box" co-host Joe Kernan encouraged Corzine to consider accepting the job if offered, even as the former U.S. senator expressed his contentment as governor. "You could save the world" as Treasury Secretary, Kernan said.
Corzine, who used to run Goldman Sachs, did talk about the economy and specifically spoke to the new jobs numbers that will be coming out Nov. 7:
I think the loss of confidence that's broadly occurred that's built on reality - of declining home values, the loss of jobs, the lost value in 401ks which are now 201ks - I think is very dangerous on the job front and that tends to be reinforcing.
Corzine focused on problems a Treasury Secretary might address:
We're going to have to restructure what we're doing in the housing market. We've got to get into the housing market. We've talked about this around here. I don't think you can do it at no loss for the financial institutions. But somehow or another in both the mortgage and in the physical housing market we've got to do something real.
Corzine also pushed for an "influx of or an inflow of resources into an infrastructure program across the country."
