Energy Costs Are Forcing Drastic Choices

Low-income families are cutting back on food and medicine to pay for fuel

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June 11, 2008 RSS Feed Print
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Robert Coates delivers home heating oil in New York City.

Robert Coates delivers home heating oil in New York City.

At the local level, energy officials said the need has never been greater. Timothy Bruer, executive director of Energy Services Inc., which administers the Federal Home Energy Assistance Program in Wisconsin, said people with emergency needs are coming forth in record numbers this year. While Energy Services received an average of 200 calls a day for emergency energy assistance last year, the organization gets 600 calls per day now. "They've been taking away from food, medical, and basic survival needs, and there's nothing to take from anymore," Bruer said. "Heat and power, which is a basic necessity, has become an unaffordable luxury for literally millions of Americans throughout the country."

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People, People, People. Why can't anyone address the real problem. Our elected officials have chosen to let the economy be hamstrung by their greed and their absolute refusal to jump on the big corporations who are using a very shakey excuse to rip the American people off with extravagant overpricing of commodities.

Corruption and greed has prevailed on capitol hill for years.

We've sat around and let this happen, Now, we the people have got to take a stand! If you think the politician is going to help allay this situation, you are mistaken.

This is going to be a very tough decision for the population to make becaus of all the untrue B S that is being disseminated over our airways. Stand up for ourselves ,unite for we the people.

William Alford of FL 2:54AM August 10, 2008

Dear fellow reader, If you go to www.motherjones.com today you will find an article refuting that claim. China's state run energy company, Sinopec, has had an agreement with the Cuban government since 2006 for drilling rights in one of Cuba's provinces on solid Cuban soil. However, there has been no drilling on shore or off shore. Period! Do you honestly think that for two years intelligence agencies would not notice oil rigs off the coast of Cuba? Hell, a couple of weekend warrior sport fishermen I think would be able to notice it. Cuba would be flurishing if they were pumping oil. I don't think we'd have any more refugees coming over on rafts. Yet, they keep coming, people still going hungry. Bottom line false info!Even if they were pumping off shore, wait till a category 5 hurricane hits. When tons of black sludge wah up on Key West, I guess we'll have the answer.

octopushead of MA 1:47AM June 13, 2008

Very early today, I called my Democratic Representative in the House and asked a simple question. Why is “The Peoples Republic of China” able to drill for oil into the continental shelf off Florida and our domestic companies are not permitted to drill for the same oil in the same place? They were unable to answer my question and said they would have someone call me back with an answer. I never got that call back with the answer. China has been drilling since 2006.

You should call your Congressperson or Senator and ask the same question.

http://brokengovernment.wordpress.com

Ken Moyes of AZ 1:11AM June 12, 2008

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