I have. There is a diary on the list right now which asks the President if he's ever been cold.
I've been cold, but I have also been very, very hot.
I'd like to share some of my experiences with you, if I may.
This was a comment in that other diary, but I decided to expand on it.
Yes, there is some talk about cutting LIHEAP.
I've gotten help from LIHEAP. Needed it, too.
But this is a program that got a huge increase in funding from the stimulus. The cuts they're talking about would take it back down to approximately where it was BEFORE the jump upwards.
I was lucky enough to get help through the weatherization program, thanks to the Obama administration.
My central air, which hadn't worked for five years, was replaced. I now have a livable environment in my condo, which wasn't the case in the past. All I had before was a portable unit, which kept just one room semi-cool.
For those five years, when I wanted to cook or do dishes, I had to work in a kitchen that was often upwards of 100 degrees. I don't know exactly how hot it was - the thermostat was topped out at about 99, pretty much most of the time in the summer.
I had to go into the kitchen wearing wet clothing, with a fan blowing hot air at me, trying to stay cool enough to finish what I was doing. And if I cooked something like a pot roast - pure hell. Did you know you can sweat from your eyelids?
The wet clothes would stick to me, and sometimes it itched. But it was necessary. My bare legs would get hot, so I'd have to stop and splash water on them from time to time. Same for my arms. I KNOW what it is to be hot.
The wind whistled through my door during storms, because my weatherstripping was damaged. My refrigerator was very old, and I had to mop the water from the bottom once a week, or step in a puddle.
My whole condo is cool, now - and I'm paying about half of what I paid last year at this time. Why? Because they also put insulation in my attic, replaced my rotting front door, and put up solar screens.
So now, I won't need LIHEAP help this year, because I'll actually be able to survive. My electric bills won't knock my budget down so low that I can't get by.
I have a new refrigerator. It doesn't have an ice maker, like the old one did, but who cares?? I don't have to mop it out every week, and it doesn't kill my electric bill like the old one.
My life is much better because of this President, and because of his administration.
I'm far from alone, here - many people across the country got help in that regard, so this doesn't just leave more LIHEAP funding for others this year - it leaves more money for those who need it in perpetuity.
It wasn't a bandaid. LIHEAP is a wonderful, necessary bandaid, but the weatherization program was a CURE.
A HUGE cure. I can't even tell you how much better off I am after the weatherization... it doesn't help me just one month, like LIHEAP did - it helps me YEAR ROUND.
And it also helped a lot of other people year round.
So now that the funding is (maybe) being reduced to where it was before the stimulus... fewer of us out here will need it.
And if you want proof that I actually got this help (and I'm not just making it up) I'd be more than happy to post pictures for you. Before and after photos - I took them during the process, because I was so thrilled with what was being done.
This is just another example of the Obama administration looking long-term, and not short-term.
But if it makes people angry... there's not much I can do, other than tell you about my personal experience with it - one which mirrors that of many others out there.
By the way, I was on the weatherization list for a long time. Why? Because people with small children or elderly people in the home were first in line. So THEY got help, too.
Some photos for you, so that you can see what I'm talking about:
This is my old AC unit. Over thirty years old, and hadn't worked in five, even though a friend tried to get it going:
The new one:
The old "musical" door (the dark photo shows you how much light came in through the cracks):
I actually watched a lizard crawl up inside that hole to the right of the door once...
The new door (no whistling) :)
The old refrigerator:
The new refrigerator (that I don't have to mop up after every week):
Oh, and my kitchen faucet was so old that it actually had holes in the top of it - it would spit water at me every time I turned it on. They replaced that, TOO. Here's the old one:
And my new faucet:
Do you understand how big this is? I can now afford to EAT. I can afford to get by without having to scrape. And LIHEAP, as wonderful as it is, helped me for one month. This, the weatherization, helps FOREVER.
If it were just me who had gotten this help, I wouldn't say a word. But I'm far from alone.
Bandaids are great, and they're necessary. But give me a cure, any day.
And you can give me a President who looks at the long view any day, as well, thank you!!
UPDATE: I am not "yelling" at the other diarist. :) Not at all. Just wanted to add my perspective, as someone who has actually been helped by both LIHEAP and the weatherization program.
Wanted to shed some additional light on the subject - but no heat! NO HEAT, please!! ;)
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Update #2:
H/T to HeyMikey in the comments - I forgot to add that the weatherization program also keeps people working. All the contractors who got hired to replace my AC, my door, put in the solar screens, the insulation in the attic etc. got work because of the weatherization program. LIHEAP is a great program, but no jobs are saved/created because of it.
THIS program, however, does create or save jobs, and stimulates the local economy.
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Update #3:
No. I am NOT saying that I think LIHEAP should be cut. Quite the opposite, for those who missed it. I'm saying that it's simply going back to the previous levels, and that the weatherization program is a LONG TERM FIX. I would rather see funding INCREASED, but try getting that past the GOP House.
For myself and for those like me who also got help with this, we're better off year-round. Not just one month of the year. It is a permanent fix, and it frees up more funding for those who need it.