Your comment boils down to “lets ignore what has actually happened” and listen to what economists think.
You are absolutely wrong about what has led to the loss of manufacturing base in the US. Regulations certainly helped but its all down to the mighty $. It was cheaper to make things overseas because our Gvt allowed or in some particulars caused it to be that way. The Gov’t failed us by action, inaction & stupidity with a combination of poor trade deals and bureaucratic/regulatory costs while the economists directed the marching music and gave cover.
My comment is based on years of actual evidence, on what has happened. Decades of evidence support my view of this.
So regulation, regulatory costs, union demands, taxes, and other imposed burdens don’t kill jobs? EVERY economist will tell you that they do — at least every rational one. (Krugman may deny it, but he doesn’t know much about what he’s writing about.)
If you don’t believe that these things kill jobs, then you don’t really believe in free markets.