The Trump administration's rationale for cutting the EPA's budget — and eliminating regulations more generally — is flimsy at best. The president refers to them as unnecessary "job-killers" that impose significant costs on workers and consumers. He's just wrong about that. Economic growth or contraction is a result of broad factors such as demand, the rate of inflation, and population growth. The best evidence shows that environmental regulations have virtually no effect on overall long-term employment levels. In fact, in a healthy economy, increases in "green jobs," such as constructing solar panels or manufacturing pollution control equipment, are likely to more than make up for any reductions in jobs that result from environmental regulation.