During a segment on NBC’s Today this Wednesday, host Savannah Guthrie grilled House Speaker Paul Ryan on notion that the recently passed tax bill will be a boon to the middle class.
During the interview, Guthrie quoted an op-ed from New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg where he said the GOP’s tax bill was based on “pure fantasy.”
“CEOs aren’t waiting on a tax cut to ‘jump-start the economy’—a favorite phrase of politicians who have never run a company—or to hand out raises,” Bloomberg wrote in his piece. “It’s pure fantasy to think that the tax bill will lead to significantly higher wages and growth.”
Speaking to Ryan, Guthrie said, “I’ll ask you plainly: Are you living in a fantasy world?”
“Surveys would show the vast majority of businesses are going to do just what we say, reinvest in their workers, reinvest in their factories, pay people more money, higher wages,” Ryan replied.
This Wednesday, the GOP passed the final version of their tax bill which aims to revamp the tax code slash the tax rates of corporations. According to the GOP, the tax cuts will prompt businesses to use their saving to raise wages.
The bill is set for a second vote this Wednesday after it was found that it was in violation of budget rules.
Watch the exchange in the videos below:
"Are you living in a fantasy world?" – @SavannahGuthrie asks House Speaker Paul Ryan the morning after the Senate passed the GOP tax bill. pic.twitter.com/uu8frcPNdC
— NBC News (@NBCNews) December 20, 2017
This tax cut is going to cost 1.6 trillion dollars more to the deficit- are you saying that the growth we’re going to get from this tax cut will equal what we get from the deficit?
Speaker Ryan: "Nobody knows the answer to that question." pic.twitter.com/fCtWT8AQ3S
— NBC News (@NBCNews) December 20, 2017
Featured image via screen grab
