Here are real stories of workers hurt by the Trump Shutdown:
“The shutdown makes me nervous.” – 6th grader whose father is a federal worker
“The stress is just too much. … How can I set up a payment plan when I don’t have income?” – Federal worker
“They have to watch me cry and figure out how to feed them all.” – Federal worker
“It’s stressful sometimes, your blood pressure, your stress, you want the best. And then I worry about my wife, making sure she’s healthy, trying to sacrifice, so it’s just hard on me, [and] her. Ya know, we kinda worry about the bills … if she’s gonna be able to buy medicine or whatever it may be. Will we be able to eat? So, it’s kind of stressful.” – Federal worker
“I don’t know how long I can go on like this. Eventually I will have to take money out of my 401K apparently to make mortgage payments. You know, my normal monthly payments if it goes on, which if you listen to the news, it sounds like there’s no end in sight. It’s really scary. It’s stressful. It’s causing me a lot of stress. I have a hard time even sleeping thinking about it.” – Federal worker
“I’m trying to bleed out whatever little bit of funds that I have. It’s very tough. It really is. I have to pick between what bills I can pay and what bills I have to put aside and try to figure out how to pay.” – Federal worker
“I mean, our mortgages and rent, our utilities, our car payments, everything that we have for necessities in life continue on and we don’t have any income.” – Federal contractor
“Our budget is extremely tight. We have just bought only the necessities when we went grocery shopping and, you know, trying to look at the sales and see what’s on sale.” – Coast Guard wife
“It’s worrisome, I have to put food in my family’s belly.” – Coast Guard member
“It’s pretty scary. I don’t want the bank to take my new house.” – Coast Guard wife
“I am a mother of three, two who are special needs, who require weekly visits to Yale, who require weekly medication and we are unsure how we will be able to pay.” – Coast Guard wife
“I have student loans that I can’t pay on right now. It’s kind of like a black cloud over you.” – Coast Guard wife
“To be told that you’re not going to get a paycheck and you’re not going to be able to support your family is very stressful.” – Coast Guard wife
“My creditors do not care if I am getting paid or not or that the government is shut down.” – Federal worker
“We’re trying to find things that are cheap, but filling and sort of healthy.” – Federal worker
“If this goes on for a month, I’ll look into getting a new job.” – Federal worker
“Now, you – the government – is creating another traumatic event for us … There are a lot of people who can’t just make it work.” – Wife of federal worker
“[Trump]’s a father, you would think he would have some soft spot, somewhere deep down. He lacks so much empathy, it seems. I know it won’t change anything, but, I want him to see how it’s hurting us.” – Wife of federal worker
“There’s a lot of things that I’m responsible for, and a lot of people who I’m responsible for. Going to work day in and day out, the last thing I should worry about is where my paycheck will come from.” – Federal worker
“We’re all scrounging. Everybody’s talking about how they’re going to pay their next rent, how they’re going to pay their next mortgage bill.” – Federal worker