Thomas Friedman, "Did You Hear the One About the Bankers?": Obama Should Also Wear a Nascar-Style Jumpsuit

In his latest New York Times op-ed entitled "Did You Hear the One About the Bankers?" (http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/30/opinion/sunday/friedman-did-you-hear-the-one-about-the-bankers.html?_r=1&ref=opinion), Thomas Friedman makes four proposals involving US banks:

"We need to focus on four reforms that don’t require new bureaucracies to implement. 1) If a bank is too big to fail, it is too big and needs to be broken up. We can’t risk another trillion-dollar bailout. 2) If your bank’s deposits are federally insured by U.S. taxpayers, you can’t do any proprietary trading with those deposits — period. 3) Derivatives have to be traded on transparent exchanges where we can see if another A.I.G. is building up enormous risk. 4) Finally, an idea from the blogosphere: U.S. congressmen should have to dress like Nascar drivers and wear the logos of all the banks, investment banks, insurance companies and real estate firms that they’re taking money from."

As those who read this blog know, I favor reenactment of Glass-Steagall and am not hostile to Friedman's suggestions. A pity the world's banks are not rated according to their ethical standards and service as opposed to their assets and profits (see, for example: http://www.bankersalmanac.com/addcon/infobank/bank-rankings.aspx).

However, why should only congressmen be forced to dress like Nascar drivers? Why shouldn't President Obama also wear a Nascar-style jumpsuit with the logos of Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan Chase, Citigroup, UBS, and Morgan Stanley, all among his top contributors in 2008 (see: http://www.opensecrets.org/pres08/contrib.php?cid=N00009638), embroidered in crimson upon the garment?