This is the first time since our agency started providing heating assistance benefits that clients are having trouble receiving fuel oil deliveries because their allocations do not cover the cost of the minimum delivery quota (150 gallons).
Whether one believes that we are entering into a peak oil crisis or not, the stark reality remains that energy costs will continue to rise unabated.
Because of the success of the new global economy, people in other parts of the world can now afford to compete for the same fossil fuels that we consume and that does not bode well for people on fixed incomes in this nation.
The "haves" are building 20,000-square-foot mansions, burning enough energy to support the heating needs of 10 normal households, even with "green technology."
In years to come, people will look back on the decades on either side of this new millennium as a period of greed, social dysfunction and failed vision in this country.
We have put our grandchildren at risk, and if nothing is done soon, we will live to see a time of great pain and suffering.
I was and still am a contributor to this folly.
I still go to the big-box stores and purchase cheap products that come from nations that don't necessarily have our country's best interest at heart. I still drive an inefficient vehicle and, through poor planning, take unnecessary trips to purchase items that could be put off until the next time I get to town.
Although not as often as I had in the past, I still turn up the heat to take the chill off in the house.
As a nation, we're in trouble. The growth of our economy is dependent on our continuing to purchase products and consume services beyond the parameters of our real need.
This is the paradox that underpins this country's current way of doing business.
When we try to economize and reduce spending, stores are forced to cancel their orders for new inventory, factories will reduce production and people will lose their jobs.
It's already happening. Maybe in the long run, though, there will be a silver lining in all of this.
For too long, we as a nation have viewed economic prosperity as the primary indicator of our collective well-being. We have forgotten other values such as the pure sense of purpose that can be experienced when we see ourselves as supporters of our neighbors and our communities. Too many of us have gotten into the habit of "cocooning" ourselves within our homes and disregarding the needs of others.
As a means of indulging our prosperity we have purchased big-screen TVs, installed hot tubs and created elaborate kitchens and living spaces. We have turned our backs on our neighbors and have become consumed by our personal pursuit of pleasure.
Maybe our real fortune will be found in our impending misfortune.
In talking with seniors who were on the home front during World War II, their lives were forever changed by the collective sacrifice that was made in those times.
Gas, tire and sugar rations, victory gardens, bandage collection, USO canteens, War Bonds and many other patriotic initiatives were embraced with fervor as most Americans sacrificed willingly to support those who were fighting overseas. People of all ages and from all walks of life were connected as never before and the nation acted as one.
Now, low-income people, many of them seniors on fixed incomes, are experiencing the first blow of our latest recession. It is not only those who are indolent or who have substance abuse and mental health issues who are getting hit. People who have worked hard, lived frugally and who have helped build our communities are being hurt as well.
Because Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security are rapidly overtaking all other expenditures in our federal budget, there will be a time in the not too distant future when there will be little left for other federal programs.
Essential programs such as education, highway repairs and maintaining a standing army will be beyond our capacity if we don't act soon.
It is now time for us to face up to the fact that Mrs. Smith across the street is not first and foremost the responsibility of government. Our national checkbook is being bled dry and as a response our collective conscience must wake up. We need to embrace the sense that her safety is a community concern, and her well-being must be viewed as our personal responsibility. It is this spirit of community action and neighborly concern that will help us get through the difficult times ahead.
Tom Briggs is executive director of the Delaware County Office for the Aging.
