The big political problem is that the regular people affected don’t feel like they are better off than they were 2 1/2 years ago. While there is still time for the economy to turn around before November 2012 the Federal Reserve is not predicting a speedy recovery nor does there seem to be any help coming from Congress.

It was tragic enough that her 11-year-old son became a quadriplegic after gunshots hit him while he was playing outside. But now Alberta, a single mother, worries every day because she can’t leave her job to take care of her son. Without her job, she has no way to get, or pay for, health coverage for her son.

Alberta told us her story as part of the AFL-CIO and Working America 2009 Health Care for America Survey.