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The foliage in New York and all across New England is reaching its splendid peak, a sign that winter is just around the corner. And this winter promises to be chilling in more ways than one.

In addition to coping with the region’s frigid temperatures, residents will have to grapple with soaring heating bills that far outstrip the nation’s already crippling inflation. For the U.S. as a whole, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) has a chilling forecast for what households will have to shell out to stay warm. Compared with last winter, natural gas prices will be up 28 percent, home heating oil 27 percent, electricity 10 percent, and propane 5 percent.

“Households with gas-powered furnaces will still spend about 31% less than those with electric furnaces or heat pumps,” the Wall Street Journal noted (Oct. 19). “Democrats want all Americans to switch to heat…