'I'm Falling Apart': Shutdown Squeeze Tightens For Low-Wage Workers

Receiving a $0 pay stub is not easy on any worker. But some of the thousands of federal employees and contract workers who live paycheck to paycheck say the lingering partial government shutdown feels devastating. They started the shutdown with little or no savings and no safety net to weather this kind of financial emergency.

Now, nearly one month into the shutdown, even those who had a cushion are finding their bank accounts empty or negative and bills and loan payments piling up.

They are single parents and large families, many still working long hours to keep the nation's airports and prisons secure. One mom says she's skipping meals so her kids can eat. Another says she's "falling apart."

"I have no money," says T. Miller. "I don't know how much longer I can stay on this job."

Miller is a newly minted Transportation Security Administration officer who works at a busy airport in the Washington, D.C., area. NPR isn't using his full name because the TSA doesn't allow its employees to speak publicly. He became a government employee last December and