A new report from the National Energy Assistance Directors Association (NEADA) reveals that U.S. household utility debt hit a new record high as a disturbing number of Americans can no longer afford to heat and cool their homes without taking out a loan.
NEADA says that one out of every six ratepayers is currently behind on energy bills. Residential utility debt also hit a new record last year: $20.3 billion.
Since the start of the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) "pandemic," household heating costs have soared by 20 percent, said the group, which represents state-level directors of low-income utility assistance programs that help poor people survive.
The hardest-hit states as far as energy bills go include New York and Michigan. As of Sept. 30, 2023, more than seven million households in these two states are on utility bill assistance.
Consumer Price Index (CPI) data covering the Northeast Urban Household Energy Index show that an entire basket of household fuels remains near record highs. These include propane, kerosene, electricity and even firewood.
At the same time, more than 60 percent of Americans say their wages are lagging well behind inflation, which continues to soar with seemingly no end in sight.
(Related: Speaking of utility bills, they may not even exist in the future once unreliable "green" energy takes over, leaving everyone at constant risk of a sudden blackout.)
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What these data points show is that America is far from the "prosperous" nation that the Biden regime and other political entities would have us all believe it is. Perhaps for rich people things are "prosperous," but for the average person, times are tough.
The Biden regime can only blame "false perceptions influenced by right-wing media" for so long before the general public realizes that, yes, the economy is not doing well – and yes, the average person is struggling to make ends meet, no matter how Big Brother skews the narrative.
Recent polling data from Real Clear Politics shows that, despite all the pro-"Bidenomics" propaganda coming from the current D.C. regime, the average American is unhappy with both the regime and the economy.
"People are voting with their empty wallets – and are not thrilled with lies coming from the White House," is how one media report put it.
With the way things are going, it will not be long before the White House starts to accuse people's high utility bills and grocery receipts of being "misinformation." Heck, they do it all the time with other inconvenient truths that they do not want We the People hearing, let alone believing.
"You will be hungry and cold, but you must pay for free healthcare for illegals," wrote one commenter on a news story about all this.
"It's really the least you can do," another jokingly responded. "And throw in a few cartons of Marlboro, you dirty racist."
Another person who lives in Illinois "on the dividing line for all the snow" that has been dropping in recent weeks says a local propane supplier there is putting customers on cash-only deliveries because of how bad things are getting.
"Local businesses are getting hammered," this person added. "Auto insurance, property taxes, homeowner insurance, groceries, medicine, etc. is going through the roof. Things that just start creeping into your bank account while you're busy on your cell phone."
Cost of living in the United States is out of control due to greed and financial manipulation, among other factors. Learn more at Collapse.news.
Sources for this article include: