Mood Of The Nation: Worrying How Others Are Faring

She says she's fortunate not to have needed government help herself. Williams remained employed throughout the recession even as many states and localities cut jobs.

"People will always need therapy," she says. "My field is in demand."

Together with her husband, an Army reservist and military contractor, Williams has maintained a comfortable upper-middle class lifestyle. They have two children: One is in college; the other is working on an internship and attending college classes.

She's kept up contributions to her 401(k) and doesn't fret about retirement. The couple owns a home that's held its value. This year, they had hardwood floors installed in the kitchen and bathroom.

"The houses in our neighborhood are selling," she says. "If we wanted to get out, we would make a nice profit."

In her view, the president doesn't deserve all the blame for the still-weak economy or high unemployment, now at 7.8 percent. She wishes Republicans and Democrats would work more cooperatively to strengthen the economy.

"My dream for America," Williams says, "is that we'll go back to our core values of taking care of other people and looking out for other people instead of just looking out for ourselves."

___

To watch video of Williams and for more on this topic, go to: http://bigstory.ap.org/topic/mood-of-the-nation

__

AP video journalist Dan Huff contributed to this report.

Copyright 2011 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

« First ‹ Previous 1 2