The gap between what Americans earn and how much they need to bring in to achieve a basic standard of living is growing, according to a new report.

The analysis, from the Ludwig Institute for Shared Economic Prosperity (LISEP), looks beyond whether people can afford daily necessities like food and shelter to consider whether they have the means to pay for things like the technology tools necessary for work, higher education, and health and child care costs.

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The findings? For the bottom 60% of U.S. households, a "minimal quality of life" is out of reach, according to the group, a research organization focused on improving lower earners' economic well-being.

"The middle class has been declining — we just haven't recognized it fully," LISEP Chairman Gene Ludwig told CBS MoneyWatch. "It's really dangerous because it's the kind of thing that leads to social unrest, and it's not fair. The American dream is not that it's given to you — it's that if you work hard, you have a chance to get ahead and achieve the things in life that you want to achieve. It's not living in a tent, not having to steal."