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For millions of Americans, affordability is no longer an abstract economic discussion in Washington. It is the reality they confront every week at the gas pump, in the grocery aisle, and when opening monthly bills. Rising fuel prices ripple through nearly every corner of the economy, increasing the cost of transporting food, manufacturing goods, delivering products and operating businesses. When energy costs surge, families feel it immediately, and so do employers struggling

For decades, incomes of families in the upper middle class have grown more rapidly than that for middle-income families. This decompression of incomes has resulted in greater income inequality, and for many middle-income families, the gateway to the upper middle class has been closing. Loss of upward mobility and decompression of incomes is a major source of dissatisfaction and conflict in American society.