But the war’s cost burden is affecting more than just gasoline prices. The war in Iran is also pushing up the cost of heating our homes. The National Energy Assistance Directors Association projects that home energy costs will rise by 8.7% this winter—more than twice the latest annual inflation rate of 3.4%. Nearly 5 million households in the U.S., mostly in the Northeast, depend on heating oil to heat their homes.
Working families and older individuals already struggling to make ends meet will be hit the hardest financially and will be forced to make life-or-death decisions. Cold homes can raise blood pressure and increase the risk of heart attacks and strokes, particularly among older adults.
CNBC conducted a poll earlier this year and found that 63% of adults living in the U.S. are living paycheck-to-paycheck. For households already stretching every dollar, there may be no discretionary spending left to cut.
In research my colleagues and I conducted during the first year of the pandemic, more than half of low-income households engaged in survival-focused coping strategies. While some families turn to dangerous ways to keep warm at home, other families unable to pay their bills often take on debt or sacrifice other necessities like seeking medical care or buying food. Most of these households use multiple strategies, revealing how financial hardship can force people to make several compromises at once.
Prolonged high fuel prices caused by the Iran war will only deepen this hardship.
Families who cannot afford their energy bills could see relief through government programs like the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program if it were funded at higher levels and with expanded eligibility. Currently, the program only reaches a fraction of families in need, and the need is growing significantly. An increase in funding now would mean more families seeing relief before they have to go into debt or endure unsafe winter conditions.
With no end to the war in sight and an approaching winter that will see a rise in energy demand and costs, policymakers need to move quickly to offer relief to families. Americans deserve future-focused solutions that include diversifying our energy sources so that no future wars or shocks to fossil fuel sources can impact the United States’ ability to afford necessities.
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