US Heads For Harsh Winter as Heating Costs Soar 30%

It was raining in Baltimore yesterday. Today is overcast. Rain, sleet and snow are said to be on their way.

Well, what do you expect? It’s winter. And winter is traditionally a tough time.

“Things have changed so much,” said a friend yesterday. “Now, when we travel, for example, we go from a heated car to a heated terminal to a heated plane to a heated cab to a heated office. We no longer know what the weather is outside. And we certainly don’t care.

“I think that is part of why we are so blasé about economic and financial threats. There just doesn’t seem to be any real world anymore. It is all controlled. Everything is under control. We have that illusion...that we can control the weather...that we never actually have to suffer it.”

But winter is still a lean time for many people. USA Today:

“Soaring fuel prices are creating a crisis among low-income people and senior citizens who can’t afford to heat their homes...”

“This is a scary, scary winter. I don’t know what folks are going to do,” said one do-gooder.

Core rate inflation is still nothing to worry about. But they don’t include food or fuel in the core rate. And residential heating oil is expected to average US$3.23 a gallon this winter – up 30% from last year. Propane is up 250% – from only 50 cents a gallon to US$2.50.

Bill Bonner
The Daily Reckoning Australia

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