Nina Totenberg's call for higher taxes makes a little more, but not much, "sense" when you consider that she thinks giving to faith-based charities just ends up rewarding the President's political supporters. A few minutes after Totenberg called for a "Katrina tax" on Sunday's Inside Washington, she remarked:
The next question is going to be the execution of this. You know, in the immediate aftermath of Katrina, the charities listed on the FEMA website for people to give to, 20 of the 22 charities were faith-based. If we end up with a Halliburton Revival, so to speak, and the President’s cronies in terms of politics getting this money, it will be worse for Republicans. It is very important for him that this be done right.
Of course, if FEMA specifically and the Bush administration at-large are genuinely as incompetent and ineffective as Totenberg believes, how does throwing more money into Big Government's collection plate solve anything?