Speaking Of Overseers Of The Poor

[Henry]

I remember reading some of the old Town Reports and seeing where the Overseer would have a cord of wood in the budget for a family in need.  As I see load after load of wood going down by my house from Fletcher way, I was thinking, I bet the overseer would have a big wood budget this coming year.  Of course back in those days, a lot of people burned wood.

It seems like the big thing on everyone's mind this year is heating their homes.  Secondly is the cost of driving to work in this Commuter Town, which takes a big chunk out of the budget.

Don't want to be pessimistic, but looks like it is going to be a tough winter.

[Loctavious]

I agree Henry.  MY gas budget per week has more than doubled since last year at this time.  Heating the home is a big concern fo rus too, though we've really made strides in the past 3 years to improve our home's energy effeciency.  Any savings we would've seen and we'd calculared and banked on, are now absorbed into fuel costs. 
we usually heat with wood about 60% of the time after December 1.  and only 30% before then.  I can tell you know, we'll be striving to heat with wood 100% of the time this winter.

Now, why the hell is gas so high if all our suppliers are saying it's not their fault?  Oh, it's our own little speculating brokers here in the Mercantile exchange eh? 
I heard some conspiracy theories about how it's all an organized act to cripple the US economy and thus bring on the collapse of our nation's power/superiority.  As all great powers eventually find collapse ( or at least all thus far in our short history), i'm not so sure it's someone else's diabolical and purposeful act.  I think it's more a case of chickens coming home to roost.  Meaning US some policies from the last 50 years or so are coming back to bite us - and hard.

But really, i think something else is going to come out of this.  We'll wane our dependance on oil, quite painfully might i add, and guess who'll be suffering next?  That's right, all the countries who are claiming they have nothing to do with the price hikes.  Will we tell them then that THEY'LL need to get use to it liek some have told us now?  some of these countires has Petroleum as their main export and source of income.  THEY will fall harder than us for sure.

Sorry, needed to vent there for a bit.

[Mummy]

Yeah, the middle class is getting squeezed to death here.  They say it is going to be a long 18-months of this at best.

[dearon]

Until the current administration is changed, we will not see a change, unless it get higher of course.
Speculators on  wall street are to blame, according to the news.  I think there's a lot more to it than than.  Conspiracy theories sometimes play out to be true.  All classes are being squeezed, with the retirees feelling the pinch the worse.  If they only have a fixed income IE: SS check, that will not be enought to sustain them.  We will all need to look out for our elderly relatives and neighbors more than ever.

[Mummy]

It was very common when I was growing up to have friends who had a relative living with them like an Grandparent,  Aunt or Uncle.  Perhaps we will be going back to those times where folks are going to have to "double" up just to pay the utilities.  It really wasn't a bad thing.  Infact,  in other cultures they respect the senior population with honoring the senior with "wisdom" which is shared with the younger generation.  The payoff is the senior has more time and passages to share with young children who are craving stories. time and attention.  Another payoff was usually, there was always someone home in addition to the over alll savings!