Corporate executives have begun to bite the hand that feed them.

This is another ominous sign for Barack Obama.

William Daley, his new Chief of Staff, went so far as to say, “Sometimes you can’t defend the indefensible.”

One by one, exasperated executives stood to air their grievances on environmental regulations and stalled free-trade deals. And Daley, the former banker tasked with building ties with industry, found himself looking for the right balance between empathy and defending his boss.

At one point, the room erupted in applause when Massachusetts utility executive Doug Starrett, his voice shaking with emotion, accused the administration of blocking construction on one of his facilities to protect fish, saying government “throws sand into the gears of progress.”

Here’s the problem in a nutshell — for all the platitudes about getting it and seeking ways to end regulatory burdens, the Obama Administration keeps pushing greater and greater regulatory burdens on businesses that are making them less competitive. The uncertainty caused by the Obama Administration’s positions is causing companies to withhold hirings and investments.

We’re headed toward a very bad place because of it and CEOs on the front line of business and industry are starting to see the warning signs.

Note also in the article that Daley hints that small businesses may face tax increases. Why small businesses? Entrepreneurs are typically not unionized and this administration continues to show a preference for large unionized industry.