NBC NEWS: Speaker of the House Paul Ryan tells TODAY that American businesses are taxed at "the highest rate in the civilized world" and that the Republican tax overhaul will enable them to bring money back from overseas and give them incentive to invest in American jobs. He says it will bring faster economic growth that will "give relief to hard-working families." Regarding sexual harassment, he says, "we need to change the culture; let’s not make this a partisan food fight."
TODAY host Savannah Guthrie asks Paul Ryan if he is living in a "fantasy world."
SAVANNAH GUTHRIE: The biggest tax cut rate is for corporations. And the problem is a lot of CEOs have said, really candidly, I am looking at a list of CEOs who have said we don't plan to reinvest. What they are planning to do is stock buybacks, to line the pockets of shareholders.
Let me quote Michael Bloomberg, a billionaire, hardly an enemy of business. He said, "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. 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?
REP. PAUL RYAN: I would compare the anecdote to surveys to businesses like the National Association of Business Manufacturers surveys which 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.
Workers benefit through this by higher wages. It's not a question of if, it's a question of how much they benefit.
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