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.

We’ve all heard of death bed conversions, but a leading liberal luminary has been caught on tape making a death panel confession. Sarah Palin got pilloried for suggesting that government-run healthcare would lead to “death panels.” But in a 2007 speech at the University of California at Berkeley, former Clinton Labor Secretary and Obama economics advisor Robert B. Reich essentially admitted that Palin was right.

Reich began his address by telling the audience that he was going to deliver a speech about healthcare as if he were an honest candidate who “did not care about becoming president.” Reich continued, “In other words, this is what the truth is…” Are you sitting down for this? Here’s an excerpt:

“…particularly you young healthy people…you’re going to have to pay more. …And by the way, … if you’re very old, we’re not going to give you all that technology and all those drugs for the last couple of years of your life… It’s too expensive…so we’re going to let you die.

“Also, I’m going to use the bargaining leverage of the federal government … to force drug companies and insurance companies and medical suppliers to reduce their costs. What that means, less innovation and that means less [sic] new products and less [sic] new drugs on the market which means you are probably not going to live much longer than your parents.”
So, let’s summarize the kind of healthcare program that Robert Reich wants: “you’re going to have to pay more,” “if you’re very old … we’re going to let you die” and “less innovation … means you are probably not going to live much longer.”

That’s pretty shocking stuff. The media just couldn’t believe it when Sarah Palin suggested that government-run, socialized healthcare would lead to “we’re going to let you die” death panels. But that’s exactly what Reich said, and you can listen to him say it here.

To the bean counting bureaucrats, your life is a burden, not a blessing. So Big Government is going to dictate what healthcare you can and cannot receive. Need critical surgery? Maybe not. Suffering from serious pain? Sorry. Need cancer treatment? Too bad. How could anyone possibly call that “reform”? Sadly, many politicians do.