SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO.com) -- Trying to understand what the Republican tax reform plans in Congress will do to your money?
Augustana University economic historian Dr. Robert Wright has an analogy to help you understand.
"Taxes are often likened to passing an ice cube around," Wright said. "So the more hands that it touches, the less and less of an ice cube that you have left."
The GOP tax plan, under this analogy, would have fewer "hot, grubby hands" of the federal government involoved.
Generally, Wright calls the GOP tax plans "a good start." But he'd like to see more.
"It's not the end," Wright said. "Lots more needs to be done in terms of holding the line on the growth in government at the federal, state, and local levels."
However, he's not convinced about how much actual "swamp draining" is going on in Washington.
"Trump said that he was going to drain the swamp," Wright said. "And so far he has done so. But he's mostly just replaced old swamp monsters with new swamp monsters."
Wright says he thinks additional deregualtion is needed to fully revitalize the economy.