America needs more rules to protect workers, say some from both parties.

Sen. Josh Hawley wants more rules empowering unions.

Barack Obama’s Labor Secretary says there’s “no fairness, no equity, no concern for safety, no concern for children, even!”

European countries, they say, have more laws protecting workers, and so “Europe is better.”

That’s nonsense, says economist Sven Larson in my new video. He grew up in Sweden, but now says, “If you’re a worker, you don’t want to live in Sweden!”

One reason is that unemployment is 10%.

“If you get fired,” says Larson, “there’s no job out there for you.”

Years ago, America’s economy grew neck and neck with the European Union’s. Then, about 15 years ago, Europe stopped growing.

Today, the USA is 50% richer — even though the European Union has 100 million more people.

Europe is kind of like a big museum. Tourist money keeps it going, but there’s so little growth that, per person, Mississippi (the poorest state) is now richer than most European countries.

The reason is the very same policies ignorant Americans want to copy — like higher taxes on the rich.

“But what do you do when you run out of the rich?” asks Larson. “Tax the almost rich. Then you run out of them.”

But some Americans today are absurdly rich.

Even “if you add up all the value these individuals have,” he replies, “it’s nowhere near enough to pay the obligations that the federal government has.”

So, tax is taken from the average worker.

In Sweden, he says, “Average workers pay (a higher percentage of) taxes than if you make $400,000 in the United States.”

But at least their health care is free.

“No!” he replies. “You get the right to free health care, but whether you get health care is a different story. I have friends who died in the Swedish health care system because they couldn’t get treatment in time.”

Union power, excessive regulation and high taxes are why Europe now has zero of the world’s largest companies. The list constantly changes, but as I write, no European company is in the top 20. American firms lead the list.

“America still has this spirit of understanding that you can actually make life better for yourself, which I don’t find in Europe,” Larson says.

We do have that spirit … now.

But it’s challenged by the 300,000 bureaucrats who write and enforce regulation. That’s a lot of people who believe that if they’re not adding more rules, they’re not doing their job.

Stop them before they make America as stagnant as Europe.