Steve Bannon, President Trump’s chief strategist, called for “deconstruction of the administrative state” at the conservative CPAC conference, on Thursday.

What does that actually mean?

According to Bannon, it means breaking down the nation’s tax system, the bureaucracy, regulations and trade pacts. At first blush, it sounds pretty good. Who wouldn’t love a smaller tax bite – or no bite at all – out of their bi-weekly paycheck? That would mean more money for the things we actually care about, right?

Not really. A smaller bureaucracy might put more money in our pockets today but would cost us, big time, in the long run. Trump wants Americans to believe deconstruction will give us more control over our lives. But will it?

Deconstructing the bureaucracy means fewer people looking out for things that we care about, like clean water, clean air, food safety and better schools for our children. And that’s just for starters.

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) – bureaucratic entities, keep watch over and rein in the excesses of the corporate elite. They’re our first line of defense against a repeat of the 2008 financial crash and the Great Depression – both results of inefficient or insufficient regulation.

These regulatory agencies were created to protect the public, and the Bannon/Trump Administration hasn’t laid out any ideas on who will watch out for “ordinary individuals” once the bureaucracy is deconstructed

So – Who would benefit from the “deconstruction of the administrative state?” The rich and the powerful.

And who would lose? All the rest of us.

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