Heat Wave 2011: States Cut Programs Helping Families Pay Electric Bills

As the article points out many of the states hit hardest by this summer's heat have drasticall­y cut or eliminated programs that help the poor pay to adequately cool their homes. The cruel paradox of this already deadly scenario is that many of the leaders of these same states have vehemently denied "global warming"; opposed investing in green technology­; and repeatedly & loudly decried "big government­" until of course, a natural disaster strikes.



Now in the face of high unemployme­nt and requests for assistance­, an economy drained by over a decade of war spending, Wall Street manipulati­on, and a lack of tax revenues has left even the most well intentione­d state government­s have been forced to make deep cuts in aid to the poor, the elderly and the most vulnerable­. Recent extreme weather will compound problems by not only posing serious health risks but also by impacting the costs of everything from food to clothing. Due to prolonged drought and scorching heat, crop losses will result in higher prices for everything from beef to corn to cotton.



So what have our political leaders been quibbling about for the past few months: raising the debt ceiling; making cuts to social safety nets like Medicaid & Social Security; and making sure that the rich do not pay a dime more in taxes.



Hopefully, all of this will still be fresh in the minds of the voters in November 2012.
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost