Savannah Guthrie to Paul Ryan: ‘Are you living in a fantasy world?’

Savannah Guthrie asked Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) during an interview on NBC’s “Today” early Wednesday if he was “living in a fantasy world” to think that the GOP tax bill will help workers. 

Guthrie quoted former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg (I), who said in an op-ed earlier this month that such an argument is “pure fantasy.”

{mosads}“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 said. “It’s pure fantasy to think that the tax bill will lead to significantly higher wages and growth.”

“I’ll ask you plainly: Are you living in a fantasy world?” Guthrie asked Ryan.

Ryan pushed back, citing a survey from the National Association of Business Manufacturers.

“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,” he said.

The Senate passed the final version of the tax bill early Wednesday morning. It overhauls the tax code and cuts corporate tax rates, but Democrats and critics say the plan will primarily benefit the wealthy and corporations.

The GOP has argued that by cutting taxes for corporations, businesses will reinvest their savings in their workers by raising wages.

The House will vote on the bill for a second time on Wednesday, after the Senate ruled that two provisions in the bill did not comply with budget rules.