Feb. 12, 2005 - 23:01 MST

THE WONDERING JEW

Cost Of Existence

We moved in September while the weather was warm from an apartment to a house. We expected for costs to go up but were unprepared for the utility bills. The cost of natural gas rising rapidly and going out of sight almost. In our apartment to use heat all we had to do was up the thermostat and a fan would come on and pull heat from the central system. Cost of heating ? The small amount of electricity used to run the fan. Hot water the same, from the central system of the complex.

Now we are much in the same boat as other folks are. One single man we know keeps his temperature in his apartment at 61 degrees. Geesh, ours is at 67 now and I freeze to death.

I moved my oxygen concentrator (which generates heat) into my room and keep the door closed, and Heather has a small electric heater by her chair. Otherwise the misery factor would be immense, before we did that I was wearing much clothes including a long sleeved hooded sweat shirt - hoody at work.

On February 9th the Rocky Mountain News had an article by Gargi Chakrabarty that deals with the situation in Colorado, but probably is a nationwide problem. In part:

$800,000 in heating aid for needy targeted

"The Bush administration's proposal to reduce funding for heating assistance to needy families could mean an $800,000 loss for Colorado."

"President Bush's proposed budget, announced Monday, calls for an $80 million cut from the $1.88 billion Low-Income Energy Assistance Program. administration is also seeking a 32.8 percent cut, or $97.6 million, from emergency energy assistance funds."

"If the budget is approved, $800,000 would be shaved off Colorado's $29 million LEAP share."

"The proposed cuts come at a time when Coloradans are reeling from skyrocketing costs to heat homes with natural gas, and hundreds of customers are falling behind in paying their bills on time."

"The loss to Colorado could be significant," said Glenn Cooper, program manager of Colorado's Department of Human Services, which distributes LEAP funds. "Since heating costs will continue to go up, and given that demand will remain stable, we may have to lower the benefits to needy families."

"Cooper said that LEAP assistance, $275 on average for the entire winter season, is 16 percent less than the $320 on average distribution last winter. That's mostly because Gov. Bill Owens released $10 million in emergency funding last year that enabled the agency to ramp up the benefits."

"About 100,000 low-income familiews are expected to be helped this winter, about the same as in the past year."

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Opinions and thoughts.

So the help is being cut back, and needy families are just going to have to tough it out ? ? ? ? ? Seems as if even though Heather and I are fortunate, still cut backs are hurting us. Things promised to us when we retired now are beginning to be cut back.

Now our prescription co-pays are doubled, the co-pay for a doctor's visit - doubled and some of the other services are higher than a kite.

Yet we realize just how fortunate we are when we see relatives not in an HMO or other plan pay full price for medications, doctor's visits and medical services. We would go under for sure if we were in that condition.

But it seems to me that it is always the poor, low-income, helpless folks who bear the brunt of economic troubles. While it is the high-income folks who go merrily on their way and do not consider someone shivering in a cold flat, not able to afford a doctor or prescription medications. People who have to flip a coin and ponder, gas, rent, food, clothes or what ? ? ? ? ? ? Those folks who vote against any taxes of any kind and take advantage of every little loophole in the tax law. The millionaires who draw their Social Security checks every month as a God Given Right, who are drawing a salary at a job to boot. Not working, that hasn't been proven yet. Just drawing a salary and ready to bail out on a golden parachute. There should be a commonsense way to determine on how much is too much, both in salary for the rich and costs to the poor. Heather and I aren't exactly poor, but we are fighting the battle of the Cost Of Existence . . . . . . . . . . .

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