By Mike Wilcox
Publisher
Most of us simply want peace in our lives, nation and world. We enjoy resting in a warm or cool house with something to eat, free from worry and stress.
Peace is not always easy. This winter, chances are your heating bill was chomping on your checking account and taking a huge bite out of your income. Mine has taken huge jumps at both home and office. Despite setting the thermostat 5 degrees lower than normal the monthly charge has been higher than ever.
People have reported gas and electric bills from $500 to over $1,000 for a month. Between my house and offices my electric and gas bills have climber over $2,000, more than double what they were a year ago.
Another major cost contributing to inflation is the gas needed to run our vehicles. Americans are seeing gas prices dance between $4 and over $6 per gallon. Filling up at the pump might mean you are paying $100 or higher.
Then when you go to the grocery store the same staples that were affordable a few months ago are 25 to 50 percent more.
The current inflation is chipping away at our peace as well. It’s hard to have peace if you go into cardiac arrest every time your utility bill arrives, you buy gasoline or go to the grocery store.
If you are renting a place you have a further burden as some Americans are paying more than $2,000 a month for a house. Buying a home is even more precarious. Home values are up nearly 25 percent.
Russia is determined to destroy Ukraine’s infrastructure and has become a major player in driving up our cost of living. We were already experiencing inflation but the entire planet is reacting to what Russia is doing to Ukraine. All industrialized countries are feeling inflation’s effects at this point.
The world is a difficult place for peace. What is happing in Ukraine today may take place in Taiwan tomorrow, or in the Middle East where Iran may attempt to foment instability.
I hope cooler heads than Putin’s will prevail. War serves no purpose. We are seeing that play out in Ukraine, where millions of people are being displaced and whole cities leveled to the ground.
Our peace in America is unsettling but compare our situation to millions of brave Ukrainians today. Pray for them and let us give thanks for what we have.