Well, I finally received my New York State energy rebate check from Governor Kathy Hochul.
And guess how much it was?
$100.
Now, don’t get me wrong. I’m not going to complain about receiving an extra $100. Money is money, and I’ll certainly take it. But at the same time, I have to ask: What exactly is this supposed to accomplish?
Let me put things into perspective. My most recent electric bill was actually MORE than the $100 check I received.
Read that again.
The check that is supposedly meant to provide some relief from energy costs doesn’t even cover one month’s electric bill.
And I’m sitting here thinking, what the fuck?
How exactly is this supposed to help people? How is $100 supposed to make a meaningful dent in the cost of electricity, heating, and all the other expenses that keep piling up?
Sure, I understand that this is a rebate, and I’m not expecting the state to magically pay everyone’s utility bills. But let’s be real here. When the cost of basic necessities keeps going up, a one-time payment of $100 isn’t exactly going to change much.
It’s a nice little bonus, I suppose. But meaningful relief? I’m not so sure.
And that’s really my point. We keep hearing about affordability, energy costs, and helping ordinary New Yorkers make ends meet. But at some point, shouldn’t we be looking at the actual costs people are dealing with rather than handing out a relatively small check and calling it relief?
Because when my electric bill is more expensive than the rebate itself, something about this whole situation just feels a little ridiculous.
I’ll take the $100, obviously. But I would much rather see a situation where people aren’t struggling so much with their basic utility bills in the first place.
Just saying.