The Incredible Jobs Machine

Jobs make the world better because people with jobs are better off than those without, and because employees are being paid to do things that employers and customers want done, making the employers and customers better off too. IOW, the non-zero sum benefits of trade.

But regulations are important. A good regulation perfectly internalizes externalities. I can't burn leaded gasoline in my car because even though it's an effective and cheap form of lubrication, it kills babies.

So maybe there would be more jobs if leaded gasoline was allowed, but the world would be a worse place.

And "every government-mandated low-flow toilet, phosphorous-free dishwasher detergent, CFL light bulb, and carbon-emission regulation" is a government attempt to internalize externalities, an attempt to force companies to pay the true cost of their activities.

It makes the economy function more efficiently, not less.

Granted, the government very rarely does its job perfectly. But the imperfect job it does do is much better than doing no job at all. Help the government do its job better, not worse.