I Can't Help It(Part Two...)

As I have said many times virtually anything you do socially costs money(which if you haven't got it)is it any wonder people are isolated and stay indoors with a book, a radio and/or TV. Often deciding whether they eat or heat the home...for anyone living outside the UK, the prices of energy is too high for many here and is becoming something that cannot be afforded now and thanks to Government policies and the prices utility companies charge what should be an essential service to make life comfortable and healthy is becoming a luxury.

Two main reasons causing this is the insistence to be green for the environment, the infrastructure to deliver electric and gas has been allowed to deteriorate and it needs rebuilding and the public who are already struggling to pay the bills are having to stump up most of the money. Some help is coming from the Government but not as much and it means in reality the public is paying twice.

As a consumer and then as a tax payer. Now who is to blame for that? Well, since the electric and gas has been privatised it has virtually been accepted that they have been happy to make profits for their shareholders but have not been investing for the future. The Governments(any of them)have also let it slide. So now it is a race against time as they keep telling us if we are not careful the lights will go out within a few years.

It used to be pensioners struggling to stay warm or afford to eat but now it is people that work or have families. Anecdotally but also with reports from charities and interested parties just about everyone has been touched by fuel poverty. People(well Dr's and medical staff)say get out of bed, you'll become depressed. But for many the warmest place in a home is the bedroom, in particular the bed itself.

I just heard a writer on the radio say that she wrote her best selling novel in bed because it was the warmest place in the house(but wrongly perhaps)you assume a best selling author would be able to afford to use the central heating.

The big trouble many have in our country(even before times became tough and the austere measures come in)is that the cut off point before you get help from the State is too low. So if you can save you either need a lot of money to cushion life's blows so you don't need to ask for help and can soldier on or you need to be so poor that you have no safety net and depend totally on the State. But live like a "Church Mouse"

Or dare I say it makes people dishonest because if they have family they have to distribute funds amongst family if they have any. I know living a very frugal life myself I have very little to play with to cover the unexpected things that can happen from week to week.

Now if you had a small nest egg, it might put an extra £10-£20 in your pocket each week. But if seen as a lump sum in a bank, that could actually mean the difference to being helped and struggling even more. If I was to eat better and use more energy there would be nothing left. Or I would have to give up the odd treat or my internet. How horrible would life be without some enjoyment.

In coming months that may still be a worry, if I am not entitled to certain help due to changes and/or new taxes and increases in daily living costs and yes, income being frozen.

I have a fear that we are not being told the truth and we may find ourselves in a similar position to some countries in Europe such as Portugal, Spain, Italy and yes, Greece. I hate the idea that internationally respected charities that usually have appeals for countries called the third world are trying to help people in mainland Europe with food banks and soup kitchens etc...and that includes my country.

No wonder, whist I try to count my blessings I feel down and less positive.