Free Republic

It is more expensive than ever to buy a home in the U.S., according to a new report from the real estate company Redfin. The median home price hit a record $383,725 during the four week period ending April 21. That’s up 5.2 percent from a year ago, Redfin found, one of the largest leaps in home prices since October 2022. The average 30-year fixed mortgage rate hit 7.1 percent this week, the highest it’s been since November 2023. Mortgage rates dipped briefly at the end of last year after the Federal Reserve signaled it would cut interest rates this...

As Tax Day passes on Monday, the cost of illegal immigration to American taxpayers has hit an unprecedented level on President Joe Biden’s watch. The latest estimates, published by the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) last March, show that millions of illegal aliens residing across the United States cost taxpayers more than $150 billion annually. The FAIR report stated: At the federal, state, and local levels, taxpayers shell out approximately $182 billion to cover the costs incurred from the presence of more than 15.5 million illegal aliens, and about 5.4 million citizen children of illegal aliens. That amounts to...

Nike is laying off 2% of its corporate workforce as it contends with weaker consumer spending. 'The actions that we’re taking put us in the position to right-size our organization to get after our biggest growth opportunities as interest in sport, health and wellness have never been stronger," Nike said in a statement to FOX Business. Starting Friday, more than 1,600 positions will be cut as the company tries to increase its investment in high-priority areas such as running, women's clothing and its Jordan brand, CEO John Donahoe told employees, according to a memo seen by The Wall Street Journal.

If you want to see Christian McCaffrey face off against Patrick Mahomes in the Super Bowl in Las Vegas on Sunday and don’t yet have a ticket, it’ll cost you. The cheapest seat in Allegiant Stadium is going for $7,439 just hours before kickoff. The highly anticipated Kansas City Chiefs versus San Francisco 49ers game is expected to draw record eyes on television between rising interest in football and the attendance of pop superstar Taylor Swift getting her fans involved.

WINDSOR LOCKS, Conn. — For several years, a problem has been brewing for Lockheed Martin’s F-35: future upgrades will make the jet run even hotter than it does now, more than its current cooling system is believed to be able to handle. In the near term, Pentagon officials expect that a high-profile upgrade to the plane’s F135 engine will avoid most of these cooling issues. But in the longer term, the military fears future aircraft upgrades needed to keep pace with threats decades down the line will push the heat factor even higher, and officials have recently suggested they’re casting...

The rising costs of living over the last few years have driven the younger generation to make “drastic sacrifices” in order to reset their financial stability or be able to own a home in the future. Younger people are opting to live in cost-effective vans and showcase their tiny living quarters on TikTok to the fascination of the internet. Michael Alberse, a TikToker with 57,000 followers, moved into a van one year out of college while working at Google at the age of 22, which changed his financial future “forever” and paved the way to homeownership. “I chose to live...

Everyday costs incurred by American workers since President Joe Biden assumed office are only “more expensive on paper,” New York Times economic reporter Jeanna Smialek wrote Wednesday about the “good news” economy. Members of the establishment media constantly appear to use a semantic trick to express optimism about the president’s economy, when, in fact, Americans are very unhappy about the increased costs: Gallup: 61 percent of Americans say price increases caused them financial hardship. CNBC: A record high 66 percent of Americans are “pessimistic” about the future of Biden’s economy. Lending Club: 62 percent of adults in December said they...

The goods and services American workers could afford with $100 in 2020 now cost $119.27, a recent Bloomberg report found. The increased prices will likely impact the 2024 election results since they come after President Joe Biden implemented his economic policy of so-called “Bidenomics.” Over half of voters in key swing states said grocery prices are the top way inflation has impacted their budget, according to a Bloomberg News/Morning Consult survey.

The typical American household must spend an additional $11,434 annually just to maintain the same standard of living they enjoyed in January of 2021, right before inflation soared to 40-year highs, according to a recent analysis of government data. Such figures underscore the financial squeeze many families continue to face even as the the rate of U.S. inflation recedes and the economy by many measures remains strong, with the jobless rate at a two-decade low. Even so, many Americans say they aren't feeling those gains, and this fall more people reported struggling financially than they did prior to the pandemic,...

New York residents could face skyrocketing heating bills under the state’s new “green” policies — which may not even have a significant impact on greenhouse-gas emissions, a new study warns. A review by the Empire Center for Public Policy says the state’s new rules will push homeowners to buy expensive electrified heat pumps while being forced to phase out their natural gas, oil and propane systems. But even then, the new electrification policy could only have a negligible impact on greenhouse emissions while burning up homeowners’ wallets, according to the analysis, “In Cold Reality: The Cost and Challenge of Compulsory...

WASHINGTON — The flyaway cost for the F-15EX Eagle II is approximately $90 million for each aircraft in the program’s second production lot, about $7.5 million more than the newest price for an F-35A, Breaking Defense has learned. The Air Force has confirmed to Breaking Defense that a contract for the next three production lots of the Boeing-made F-15EX was finalized on Sept. 28, a major milestone for the program. But the $90 million per unit cost in the contract — a number that is expected to grow in successive lots — will likely raise eyebrows among critics both within...

New York is in a state of decline — with a worsening quality of life tied to sky high costs of housing, rampant crime and an unrelenting migrant crisis, according to a new poll. Fifty-seven percent of 804 registered voters who participated in the Siena College Poll released Tuesday said the quality of life in the Empire State is getting worse, while 27% said it was the same and just 14% said it was better. “A huge majority of Republicans, a large majority of independents and a plurality of Democrats all say the quality of life in New York is...

Research shows that quality early childcare offers a wide range of important benefits. A relationship with a “consistent, caring adult” promotes “better academic grades, healthier behaviors, more positive peer interactions and an increased ability to cope with stress,” according to Prevent Child Abuse America. But childcare costs are soaring.This presents a problem for parents, and it’s one that rivals another big cost at the other end of a child’s educational years: college. In fact, according to NetCredit’s research, childcare actually costs more than college in 28 out of 50 states.To determine this, we analyzed the cost of childcare compared to...

Carlee Russell could be on the hook for at least part of the cost of the law enforcement investigation into her disappearance which ended up being a hoax, according to a former FBI agent. Russell, 24, went missing on July 13 at around 9:34 p.m. after reporting a toddler walking along the southbound side of Interstate 459 near Birmingham, Alabama, according to the Hoover Police Department. The 24-year-old woman returned home at around 10:45 p.m. and police say she was seen walking along the sidewalk in the area beforehand. Through her attorney, Emery Anthony, Russell admitted to never seeing a...

South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster unceremoniously signed a measure to repeal the state’s certificate of need regulations for most health care facilities. The measure, S.164, establishes a three-year sunset of the CON requirement for hospitals except in counties that do not have one, where the mandate is repealed immediately. Observers say eight Palmetto State counties do not have a hospital. "South Carolinians will have greater access to affordable health care services with the repeal of the certificate of need laws," McMaster said in a statement. "Everyone benefits when the proven power of the free market is unleashed in our state."...

DETROIT (AP) — Tesla says it will cut the cost of its next generation of vehicles in half, largely by using innovative manufacturing techniques and smaller factories. CEO Elon Musk and other executives outlined the goals during a 3 1/2-hour investor day presentation at Tesla’s Austin, Texas, headquarters Wednesday as they presented the company’s third master plan. The changes could bring the cost of a new generation of vehicles to around $25,000. Many investors were hoping to catch a glimpse of the next-generation vehicles, but Musk said they wouldn’t be shown until a proper product unveiling. “We’d be jumping the...

Having spent decades as a health policy analyst, I know one thing for certain: Everyone has at least one personal story related to health care, either their own or a close relation’s, which often informs their opinions about the system.In my case, an evolving mini-saga over the last several months confirmed my prior belief: Health care costs too much in part because no one can find out exactly what it costs — and few people have any incentive to do so.Low-Ball EstimateOver the summer, lingering discomfort from an ankle sprain prompted my orthopedic surgeon to suggest an MRI. I went...

If you were to look under the roofs of American homes at random, it wouldn’t take long to find someone who lives alone. By the Census Bureau’s latest count, there are about 36 million solo dwellers, and together they make up 28 percent of U.S. households. Even though this percentage has been climbing steadily for decades, these people are still living in a society that is tilted against them. In the domains of work, housing, shopping, and health care, much of American life is a little—and in some cases, a lot—easier if you have a partner or live with family...

Eversource has asked the state Public Utilities Regulatory Authority to approve an increase that the company said could increase the electric bill for an average customer by nearly 50 percent, or $85 per month, on the supply portion of the bill. Eversource said, if approved, the increased rates would be in effect from Jan. 1, 2023, through June 30, 2023. Eversource is looking to increase the Standard Service Rate for residential customers who receive their energy supply from Eversource from 12.1 cents per kilowatt-hour to 24.2 cents per kWh, compared to 11.5 cents per kWh last winter, Eversource said. The...

Mass migration has quickly spiked Canadians’ housing prices and rapidly reduced the share of Canadians who can own homes, admits the pro-migration New York Times. “Basically southern Ontario has become unaffordable” amid a massive inflow of immigrants, real-estate agent Bryan Adlam told the newspaper for an October 8 article, and added: “I have two clients I have right now whose budget is $500,000 to $600,000, which is not chump change,” he said. “Are they going to be renters for life? Probably. Has owning a home become unattainable for someone on the lower income echelon? I would say, yes.”