By Mark W. Fowler

“The first lesson of economics is scarcity: There is never enough of anything to satisfy all those who want it. The first lesson of politics is to disregard the first lesson of economics.” —Thomas Sowell

Consider the panoply of government benefits now available or proposed for illegal immigrants:

• Housing in expensive hotels for months
• Debit cards
• Free healthcare
• Air travel for Haitians and Venezuelans into this country

And consider the panoply of government benefits now available or proposed for foreign countries:

• Over $100 billion dollars for Ukraine
• Support for the retirement accounts of Ukrainians
• Additional money spent on other countries

Now money is needed for Americans displaced by Hurricane Helene. Bear in mind, the Helene victims had no choice. Every illegal immigrant did have a choice to come and often paid thousands to the cartels to get here.

A week into the Helene crisis, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas reports that the Federal Emergency Management Agency is now out or will run out of money that could have been used for Helene victims. Why? Because the Biden administration diverted over a billion dollars of it to illegal immigrants. This in addition to billions spent by local governments in New York, Denver, Chicago, Springfield, and elsewhere.

Liberals find it more appealing to cater to illegal immigrants than to Americans who are paying the bills.

Some victims in the affected area report that one week after the hurricane, they have not seen or heard from FEMA. Roads have been washed out, many places have no water or power, and hundreds of businesses have been destroyed. Some are trapped in inaccessible remote areas. Fortunately, private citizens are using mule trains and private helicopters to access these people.

In Georgia, Governor Brian Kemp asked for disaster relief for 90 counties. He would know the damage better than anyone in the White House. The federal government approved 11. Only after repeated calls was the list expanded to include an additional 30.

These are American citizens. They are victims in the truest sense in that their homes, livelihoods, and communities were destroyed by adverse weather, an event they could not control. They had no choice, unlike the millions who came illegally “for a better living.” And the three stooges — Joe Biden, Kamala Harris, and Mayorkas — spent money set aside for Americans facing disaster on people who had no right to be here.

In the meantime, one of Harris’s priorities is transgender surgery for illegal immigrants and prisoners.

This begs the question: Will this administration put the victims of Helene in hotels and give them debit cards and free healthcare, or is its so-called compassion limited to people who came here illegally?

All three of them are grossly incompetent with misguided priorities. It is time to put America first. Close the borders and tend to our citizens first and restore their lives. Cut off aid to illegal immigrants. If the immigrants do not like it, they can go home without having to pay the cartels.

It’s time politicians learned we have only so much money and it should be spent to benefit Americans first.

Mark Fowler is a board-certified physician and former attorney. He can be reached at [email protected].