THE RIPPLE EFFECTS OF FEDERAL ACTION:

On April 18, the Bumble Bee Foods sardine cannery in Gouldsboro, Maine will close and 128 people will lose their jobs. That may not sound like a large number, but Gouldsboro is a small town, with a population of only 1,941 as of the 2000 census. So the jobs lost represent 6% of the town’s total population. To a community that small, that’s a stunning blow.

The jobs lost in Gouldsboro are not the fault of the financial crisis, or the continuing recession. They are the direct result of a decision made by the federal government.

Related, from Jim Geraghty: It’s the Economic Uncertainty, Stupid.