Hampden Postal Workers and Mr. Paperback

In the last two weeks we have had two announcements of the pending loss of jobs in the Bangor area.

The two are not related and are not even close to being for the same reasons. This is not Governor Paul LePage's fault. Be it Baldacci or LePage neither could make changes to the economy that would have been able to save these jobs.

The Hampden Postal Service decision is just a straight line from what we have seen with the decimation of the post office. LePage is not at fault but clearly his party is. The Republican position, deep in the bowels of the party, is to destroy any company or industry that is union based. Teachers, Government Workers, Auto Makers and of course Postal Workers are heavily unionized. They are considered a Democratic constituency. I wrote earlier on this site about how the postal service was being unfairly manipulated into financial practices which are destroying them. Still this consolidation and the loss of solid union jobs in Hampden, Maine will be felt and felt hard.

Mr. Paperback had a long history in Maine. When I was young a trip to Mr. Paperback was an experience to look forward to. Borders came to Bangor and Mr. Paperback suffered. Walmart came to town and Mr. Paperback suffered. The number of their stores had shrunk considerbly. Still the fact that they were still open if not a miracle was a surprise. They were like Randall Cobb in his fight with Larry Holmes. Cobb, beaten and bloodied, lasted fifteen rounds with Holmes though we all knew what the outcome was going to be. I do not buy books at bookstores anymore, the economies of scales that Amazon had the advantage of makes buying books from them a neccessity. Amazon is a wonderful company and we use it regularly. No one but the advance of time and the change of economy is responsible for the death of Mr. Paperback. The people losing jobs still feel bad and we should for them, but it was inevitable. Only with courage did the company last as long as it did.