Maryland Comptroller Peter Franchot said it was one of those emotional breakdowns that took him completely by surprise.

He was shopping last year at a garden supply store in Montgomery County when he asked a sales clerk how her day was going. To his shock, she burst into tears.

"She said, I have a college degree and it took me six months to find this job. And now the whole store is being liquidated," Franchot said. "She said she was looking over her finances, and she's not going to make it."

Franchot told Pasadena Business Association members Wednesday that the encounter gave him a glimpse into...