Free Republic

Studies by both Bank of America and Fidelity showed a disturbing trend last year: Hardship withdrawals and participant loans from retirement plans increased, likely due to inflation and the rising cost of living. Bank of America’s 2023 Participant Pulse found the number of participants taking hardship distributions increased by more than a third year-over-year, following increases in Q1 2023. Further, the report showed more participants borrowing from their workplace plan in Q2 (2.5%, an increase from 1.9% in Q1 2023). The good news is that both B of A and Fidelity’s research found most employees were maintaining – and even...

Three in five Americans now say inflation is causing them financial hardship, an increase from the end of last year despite inflation falling in recent months, according to a new poll. A Gallup poll released Thursday showed 61 percent of respondents said recent price increases have caused severe or moderate financial hardship, 6 points higher than the level in November. That includes 15 percent who said the hardship is severe. Pollsters found inflation is having the most significant effect on those making less than $40,000 per year, with 29 percent of them saying they are experiencing severe hardship and 46...

Fifty-six percent of Americans say President Joe Biden’s 40-year-high inflation has caused them hardship, up from 49 percent in January and 45 percent in November, a Gallup poll found this week. The poll sampled 1,500 respondents from August 1-22 with a three point margin of error.

“Power Made Perfect in Weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:1-10) The words that engage our attention this morning and that will bring comfort to our souls are these verses from our Epistle reading, 2 Corinthians 12:9-10, where St. Paul writes: “But he [the Lord] said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am...

Old notes will be accepted at government hospitals, petrol stations and toll booths for 10 more days. A day after Prime Minister Narendra chaired a meeting to review the demonetisation of Rs. 500 and Rs. 1,000 notes and its impact, Economic Affairs Secretary Shaktikanta Das on Monday announced that the now defunct currency would be accepted at government hospitals, petrol stations and toll booths till November 24. The Prime Minister’s meeting came amid continuing chaos and growing public anger across the country over limited cash availability following the surprise demonetisation of the two higher value notes. On Sunday, the cash...

**SNIP** What Is the Hardship Exemption? The hardship exemption was originally written to cover exigent circumstances, such as homelessness, eviction, shutoff notices from utility companies, death of a close family member, bankruptcies, and other similar emergencies. However, according to The Wall Street Journal, the hardship exemption was broadened considerably after the policy cancellations fiasco (which was, ironically, re-defined as a hardship) to include the following: ◾ The cancellation of an existing policy that did not meet ACA’s minimum standards, with the belief “that the plan options available in the Marketplace in your area are more expensive than your cancelled health...

The State of Israel is up in arms and everyone is protesting: Doctors, anarchists, homeless, renters who would like to be home-owners, parents, teachers, taxi drivers and more. Some of the protests are real, some are fake, some are authentic, while others hide a different agenda behind their protest signs. It's a mixed and very confusing bag of events that has broken out in our summer heat and it is rocking our government. It is difficult to sort out what is true and what is false. On the one hand, we all feel economic pressure. Whoever is getting married and...

Lavish aid to Africa is turning the continent into a ‘spoilt child’, according to the head of a charity backed by Nelson Mandela. Mike Kendrick, founder of the respected Mineseeker Foundation, warned that aid often increased the hardship faced by the world’s poorest people. In a devastating verdict, he told the Daily Mail last night: ‘I sometimes use the analogy of a spoilt child. We have all seen rich parents give their child everything they need, without earning it.

Global woe brings Japanese local pain By Mure Dickie in Tokyo Published: February 15 2009 17:54 | Last updated: February 15 2009 19:38 Hidenobu Ishikawa, a marketing manager, yearns for a new camera but dares not broach the matter with his wife. Soh Aoki spent the new year in a tented village for the homeless and unemployed after the temporary jobs that sustained him for years suddenly ran out. Mayumi Sakuma, a freelance writer, went without hot water for a week to save money on a gas repair. Hisao Onuma, a second-hand machinery trader, has asked staff to each cut...

U.S. troops serving one year tours in South Korea will now be there three years, and can bring their families with them. For over half a century, American troops in South Korea were serving what was known as an "unaccompanied" (by family) tour. More colloquially, it was called a "hardship tour," but it was only rough on the married troops. The single guys, and many of the married ones, took advantage of the cheap booze and inexpensive prostitutes to take the edge off the "hardship." But in the last three decades, South Korea has turned into a first world economy,...

Buried in the community history book of my home town is a quietly remarkable entry for the family of Robert and Margaret Cann. The Cann family moved to southeastern Saskatchewan from Ontario to homestead in 1891. Among the 11 children listed are William Henry (born 1880, died 1898), Iva Louise (born 1890, died 1898), and Dora Alice (born 1894, died 1898). What happened in 1898? As was the custom in previous years, the Canns had sought the relative comfort of "winter camp" in the wooded range of hills north of their farm to wait out the long months of cold...

/begin my translation of excerpt Interview with Mr. H and Mr. B (translator's note: both are residents in Ham-heung, N. Korea; the interview was conducted via telephone; Mr. B was out in China for a visit.) -- How do N. Korean people view Kim Jong-il? Oh, you mean 'that kid'(Kim Jong-il)? We don't care. Whenever we see 'that kid', we get mad. When 'Great Leader' (Kim Il-sung) was alive, we received some gifts, free school uniforms, and food rations. However, quite honestly, what has 'that kid' done for us? They always talk about achievements of 'that kid' on TV. It...

A Glimpse Ahead Timothy Snodgrass The Impossible Will Come Alive In 2005 01/28/05 In January of 2004, as we began to intercede for the New Year the Holy Spirit gave us the prophetic slogan, "The Seas will Roar in 2004". This year we were given a new slogan, "The Impossible will come Alive in 2005". As the veil of darkness begins to come down over nations and regions, along with great shakings will come great breakthroughs; signs, wonders, healings and a spectacular release of miracles in impossible circumstances. This year, although we are ultimately poised to gain much ground, there...

New York Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY) has long been rumored as desperately seeking the democratic nomination for president in 2008. And while many political observers fully expect the power hungry former First Lady to hit the campaign trail within only a few months of being re-elected as a US Senator in 2006, US News & World report claims to have a confirmation of sorts. From USNews.Com's Washington Whispers: Hillary's in… You don't have to take it from us about Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton 's desire to run for president. Her brothers, Hugh and Tony Rodham, say it's true. Friends...

MILTON, Fla. - Small, frail but rambunctious, 16-month-old Will Fitzpatrick suffers from multiple birth defects. He'll need a second open-heart operation within six months and a transplant if he makes it into his teens. His parents, Terry and Susan Fitzpatrick, have juggled their work schedules to provide the constant care Will needs ---- [snip -------- paste] Now the Fitzpatricks are facing a new crisis: The Army has ordered Terry, who was honorably discharged in 2000, back into uniform for duty in Iraq. Terry, a 26-year-old carpenter who was an Army mechanic, is appealing for a hardship exemption but so far...

Pyongyang propaganda concedes hardship In new tack, North Korean books and TV allude to food shortages and hard times. By Robert Marquand | Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor SEOUL - A North Korean literary genre, called "leadership series," has for years employed a device whereby the "Great Leader" of the nation steals out, unrecognized, to mingle with the people. In these novellas and short stories, peasants and rustics hold unwitting conversations with Kim Il Sung or Kim Jong Il about the glories of living in a "paradise on earth" - a device designed to flood the tear ducts...

The evil cancer of modern liberalism has spread through society. Few people, however, recognize its root. It all boils down to a simple credo: Hardship is bad, and society should work against it. This statement seems at first obvious, indisputable, and self-evident. It is also, however, FUNDAMENTALLY WRONG. Unfortunately, this lie has become so ingrained into our culture I don't know how to root it out. Perhaps someone here will have some ideas. Economists recognize that [generalized] Demand is an unlimitted force. Attempts to satisfy it can consume unlimitted resources and yet still not succeed. Worse, if Demand were somehow...

MIDI - HOLDING OUT FOR A HERO Suffering a sneak attack, we counted three thousand dead They will pay for what they've done you brave young warriors said You're prepared to give all defending liberty You endure a hardship and you are all missed by your family You guys are heroes Each one of you is a hero who has filled us with pride May you remain strong and keep your focus clear in avenging all those who have died You guys are heroes Each one of you is a hero who's in our prayers at night May angels...

<p>Los Angeles — Fall is just around the corner and many students are on their way to college. But a lot of California high school students aren’t headed to the campus they wanted to go to.</p> <p>"Normally, a student with a 4.5 GPA and high test scores would get into Berkeley and UCLA but I didn't," said high school student Kyle Taylor.</p>