Over-regulation by the U.S. government has pushed CKE Restaurants to expand overseas rather than in the U.S., says Andy Puzder, CEO of the chain that includes Hardee's and Carl's Jr.

"It's difficult to open in the U.S., but we love the U.S. and continue to fight the good fight to open restaurants and create jobs," he told CNBC. "It's just that the government is making it hard for us to build those restaurants."

Puzder cites ethanol production rules, which have boosted beef costs; a rising minimum wage at the state level; and higher labor costs resulting from Obamacare as three examples of bad regulation.

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Over the last three years, Hardee's and Carl's Jr. opened more restaurants overseas than at home for the first time ever, Puzder says.

"Under the current U.S. business climate, regulatory and tax restrictions tend to curb otherwise dynamic entrepreneurial energy," Puzder said. "We'd love to see more growth in domestic markets. Unfortunately, it's easier for our franchisees to open a restaurant in Siberia than in California."

Puzder sees strong growth potential for his company in Brazil, Russia, India, China and Europe.

A Gallup poll shows that 72 percent of Americans believe big government is a greater threat to the country going forward than either big business or big labor. That's a record high for the nearly 50-year history of that question.

A total of 21 percent chose big business as a larger threat to the United States, and a record low of 5 percent cited big labor.

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