Having an exceptionally productive month at work could ruin Chloe Morgan. A single mother to four boys under the age of ten, Morgan is a saleswoman in Dayton, Ohio, with a $30,000 base salary that is supplemented by a commission.

Too big of a bonus would risk her family losing food stamps, Medicaid, and—worst of all—the daycare subsidy that allows her to go to work in the first place. “If I make anywhere between $35,000 and $55,000, I’m in a ‘too-much, but not enough’ situation,” she says.

Doing too well at her job could leave her unable to afford childcare.

So on a humid day in mid-August, she arrives at an early childhood center to advocate for a different system. Here, Labor Secretary Marty Walsh is hosting a roundtable for roughly a dozen working-class parents, educators and community leaders who have endured a difficult 18 months. The American economy is rebounding from the once-in-a-century pandemic, but that’s not the complete picture.