Yesterday, the president proved once again that he may well be his own worst enemy. Obama’s economic policies – tax hikes, bigger government, dramatically more spending, cap and trade, etc. – will make job growth and economic recovery much harder, not easier. Now he’s back to his full-throated rhetorical assaults against American business, and he’s sharpening his class warfare rhetoric.

The president made a surprise announcement yesterday about breaking up big investment banks. Some have described Obama’s plan as “the most far-reaching overhaul of Wall Street since the 1930s.” I realize there is legitimate concern about not repeating the mistakes of a policy based on the idea that some companies are “too big to fail.” But Obama’s comments and his Big Government solutions could have been applauded in Caracas, Havana or Moscow. It’s not surprising that a new poll of investors finds that 77% of them view Obama as “anti-business” and 80% question his ability to handle a financial crisis. (Probably because his record deficits are creating one!)

Obama has made an art form out of attacking “special interests” – banks, oil companies, hedge funds, insurance companies, etc. – industries that are responsible for hundreds of thousands of American jobs. Politically, there is a one-year statute of limitations on blaming the past eight years for everything, so he has to have an enemy. But you are left with the impression that the only employer in America Barack Obama really likes is Big Government.

It’s also ironic that on the very day the president said he “welcomes a fight” with American businesses, the Supreme Court upheld the free speech rights of corporations. Be careful what you wish for, Mr. President. You might get it! But worse than that, his policies will only deepen the recession and further the pain millions of Americans are facing.