'Total disaster': How furloughed government workers plan to weather shutdown

Imelda Avila-Thomas and her husband, who both work for the federal government, suffered a "double whammy" when the government shut down , dropping the household from two incomes to none, she said. Avila-Thomas, 43, president of union local American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) 2139 and an employee at the Department of Labor, said she stopped hiring a tutor for her 12-year-old daughter, who has dyslexia, while making plans for a garage sale to sell off some possessions. The government shutdown , which entered its seventh day on Tuesday, has engendered "desperation and uncertainty," said Avila-Thomas, who lives in San Antonio, Texas. "Any day that goes by, it adds up." Avila-Thomas is among 750,000 federal workers who have been furloughed . The government shutdown is poised to i