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The middle class is in big trouble. In testimony before the Joint Economic Committee today, Harvard Prof. Elizabeth Warren said: "There have never been since the Depression so many families standing right on the edge. Families have tightened their belts. They have cut down in every discretionary spending area they possibly can."

Some startling facts that were discussed today:

--Adjusted for inflation, median household income dropped by $1,175 between 2000 and 2007.

--The average family is spending $4,655 more annually today on basic expenses, such as gas, housing, food and health insurance, than it did in 2000.

--Families are paying $2,195 more annually for gas today than in 2000.

--Childcare costs for children cost an additional $1,508 a month, while after-school costs for older children rose $622.

--People are using credit cards to cover their basic expenses. Approximately 10% of total disposable income in the US is used to pay off credit card debt.

--Approximately 43.5 percent of all households in the United States carry a balance on their credit cards.

--In 2006, the average annual income in the top quintile of U.S households was $168,170 -- almost 15 times the average income of $11,352 a year in the lowest quintile.

--The richest 20 percent in the country earned more than half of the nation's total income in 2006.

--The top 1 percent of U.S. households possess a third of America's wealth and the bottom 60 percent only 4.2 percent.

--In 2004, the median net worth was $140,800 for whites and $24,900 for non-whites.