r/antiwork • u/Coolonair at work • Feb 15 '25

Real World Crisis 🌎 Financial Strain: Over 23% of Americans Struggling to Pay Energy Bills

https://professpost.com/financial-strain-over-23-of-americans-struggling-to-pay-energy-bills/
2.0k Upvotes

100% Upvoted

50 comments sorted by

383

u/Ele_Of_Light Feb 15 '25

And it's going to get worse unless people take action, and I'm not talking about petitions. I honestly don't see us making it as a country unless we start forcing change.

Corporation greed has gotten too high... even food is difficult to afford in some areas.

123

u/OpalForHarmony Feb 15 '25

Food, energy, internet, other utilities, rent, car, car insurance, health insurance, phone, any minor or major medical issue, pet food / check ups / health issues, retirement (lol), and whatever else I'm missing that generally aren't optional.

41

u/Ele_Of_Light Feb 15 '25

Oh yea I didn't include that... as it is in our household we are paying umm 1250 rent, 1200 ish food, 800 utilities including car payments and Insurance... and we live in a low area where there is no need to demand such prices... our eggs along are about 8 dollars a 12 pack( I don't do the shopping im just told the price occasionally)

We recieve some help from well off family but even then the cost is so high that Christmas and birthdays are hard to do.

We manage but that's not a real life... it's a existence.

17

u/OpalForHarmony Feb 15 '25

That's brutal. A smidge more than my rent but way more in food n utilities. What a pain. But it's okay, as long as the CEOs, executives, and stock shareholders are fat n happy. -_-

1

u/Kokoro87 Feb 17 '25

Then we add the beautiful fact that these things increase every year, so rent goes up, cars are more expensive to run, insurance is up, food is up and even Internet is going up. Good thing salaries are going up to match these things right? Oh right, it's not.

8

u/[deleted] Feb 15 '25

It's not going down period. Climate change ramping up means that more and more people will be reliant on AC for longer and longer periods of time. 

Between that and corporate greed there is no going back.

2

u/Ele_Of_Light Feb 15 '25

Well I definitely have to agree with that. They could just bump the wages to offset some of this ridiculous cost of living. But that won't happen due to greed.

3

u/Round_Ad_9787 Feb 16 '25

It’s getting cheaper in Canada. As it gets warmer we pay less on our heat bills. Lots of space here. Everyone is welcome.

-23

u/[deleted] Feb 15 '25

[deleted]

13

u/Mr_Horsejr Feb 15 '25

I have a real fucking job. A good fucking job. A job you’d need 7-10 years experience to do. Shit is expensive af.

-2

u/[deleted] Feb 15 '25

[deleted]

126

u/nothingoutthere3467 Feb 15 '25

It’s gone up so much. My oxygen adds $100 a month so I don’t use it all the time like I’m supposed to.

87

u/Zyzzyva_is_a_genus Feb 15 '25

Insurrection, anyone?

41

u/Ok_Coyote713 Feb 15 '25

There might be a reason for it this time.

-1

u/ArchibaldCamambertII Feb 15 '25

Meh. Does anybody here really feel any loyalty or patriotism to the US or its shitty Constitution with its explicit caveats for legal slavery? Nah, it’s a fake country and nobody should be willing to fight for it. It’s not like it’s ever fought for you. We need to Balkanize, and form tighter and less geographically expansive polities.

8

u/Haunt13 Feb 15 '25

As much as that would eventually be a good thing. The processes involved with that aren't gonna be much nicer for the average person. A lot of turmoil is in store for us regardless of the outcome.

3

u/ArchibaldCamambertII Feb 15 '25

Exactly. We’re kind of fucked either way. May as well make the struggle mean something.

2

u/ArchibaldCamambertII Feb 15 '25

I’m rooting for balkanization and the emergence of a Great Lakes Republic. The peoples of southern Ontario are welcome to join us if they want.

2

u/chloesobored Feb 15 '25

No thank you. You're welcome to join the people of Ontario though.

1

u/ArchibaldCamambertII Feb 15 '25

Nah. I’m not Canadian. I’m either American or a Great Lakian (Lakean?).

58

u/AquaWitch0715 Feb 15 '25

... Why did they have to specify "energy"?

I feel like Americans everywhere are barely able to afford anything.

26

u/ShayrKhan Feb 15 '25

My energy bills went up to $300/month

20

u/ayoitsjo Feb 15 '25

I have 2 people in my apartment including myself. I have gas and electric. For just two of us the past 3 months both gas and electric have been well over $200 EACH, each month. Con Edison (electric) has been gouging their rates to absurd prices in my area, it's horrible.

18

u/Sharpshooter188 Feb 15 '25

They're just not working hard enough. /s

14

u/Elipticalwheel1 Feb 15 '25

That’s capitalism for you. The capitalists always say capitalism is the fairer way to go, only because it benefits them.

10

u/Ninja-Panda86 Feb 15 '25

Just wait until the red states realize they're no longer getting federal money, because Trump is cutting all these extra services.

10

u/Subziro91 Feb 15 '25

How is Florida cheaper with it being a humid state state ?

5

u/JayGrifff Feb 15 '25

Nuclear reactors

8

u/RegretMajor2163 Feb 15 '25

Our electric bill was $680 dollars last month. Every single one of my friends said theirs was $250 at most.

5

u/GravyPainter Feb 15 '25

Whats going on with alabama and Mississippi? Is it just because they are relatively poor compared to other states or an energy shortage?

14

u/mr_upsey Feb 15 '25

Fuck dte

5

u/Commercial_Gift6635 Feb 15 '25

https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/APU000072610

The steady rise in KWh will some day price normal ppl out of electricity altogether.

5

u/sillyredditrusername Feb 15 '25

If you’re in Ohio, you’re getting robbed due to the First Energy Scandal and House Bill 6 that was passed during that time period as well.

5

u/Own-Bite3298 Feb 15 '25

We just got a notice in NJ that electric bills are going up 20% starting in June. Hopefully that’s after Trump cuts them in half first. Sigh.

5

u/BillyBrown1231 Feb 15 '25

If you think it's bad now just wait until Canada starts cutting off oil gas and power as a result of Trumps tariffs. Canada provides about 30% of the country's energy needs.

11

u/pistoffcynic Feb 15 '25

It’s going to get worse thanks to Trump. Buckle up MAGAs.

4

u/NascarToolbag Feb 15 '25

Going up in Colorado too… huh! Weird isnt it? Like they are trying to crash the economy or something…

4

u/No_Relationship_9327 Feb 16 '25

Yah I just don't get it. I was making 18.00 an hour in 1998 and now only 25.00 in the same profession..it doesn't add up. Ugh..

2

u/RockieTrops Feb 15 '25

What a shocker...

2

u/FilledwithTegridy Feb 15 '25

The fun thing about it being tax season is being reminded that my household income is more than my parents growing up. My child hood we had 4 wheelers, lake house, boat, jet ski. Yearly vacations. I haven't taken a vacation in 8 years and am damn near living pay check to paycheck. Haven't been able to put anything into my savings account in prob 6 years.

2

u/Butthatlastepisode Feb 16 '25

Our last month was 400 and we don’t know why.

1

u/TheDeathOfAStar Feb 16 '25

Same here in Alabama

1

u/Money_Tough Feb 15 '25

I agree it's gotten very expensive and it honestly shouldnt be this expensive. My energy bill right now is roughly $400 for gas, electricity, sewage, and water a month. Given this is in the dead of winter. 

One thought though, how many of these people are struggling have video subscription plans, amazon prime, order doordash, etc.? 

I would be interested in people who say that their energy bill is too high. I'm guessing 95% of the population will say yes. My situation is a bit different as I have a cheap EV and that raises my energy bill by $60 a month. Still, $340 for everything is wild.

1

u/Polyaatail Feb 15 '25

When I lived in Glendale, CA. My power bill was pretty mind blowing every other month. I honestly don’t know have a low income family could live there.

1

u/StephanieKaye Feb 16 '25

Almost $4/gallon for propane. PAIN.