The spike in economic hardship hit individuals and families alike.

Mr. Bush complained that it would unfairly hit certain families harder than others.

Besides, research shows that the gas tax hits families up and down the income scale pretty much the same.

Floods and droughts hit families like his the hardest of all.

Higher gasoline taxes, by contrast, would hit rich and poor families alike.

Often times, holidays such as Christmas hit needy families the hardest.

Critics say the cut will unfairly hit single-income families.

They also pay excise taxes on things like gasoline and cigarettes, which often hit poor families disproportionately.

The economic crisis has hit low-income American families particularly hard.

The Treasury has once again carried out a distributional analysis, which aims to show how the measures will hit families across the income scale.