First, to all you people downgrading and sounding off your lack of compassion for our great community, the people of Elkhart county did not bring this on themselves. Our economic problems are not because RV workers brought home $2k a week. This country's economy tanked due to a multitude of events. Don't blame these hard working people or downplay their plight. I am one of those people who lost a job due to the economy. It's not just RV's, mine was in the boat industry. Many others lost jobs supplying automotive parts and building manufactured housing. How many people (Kate) have worked on an assembly line? The days can be long, hard, and hot. This is hard work and we are hard working people in this community so those with money can enjoy their campers, boats and other luxery items. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that people in other hard hit areas are not hard working. And I know there are countless other communities suffering during this recession. Don't hate or despise us because our great community of Elkhart county is in the news. Something made an impression on President Obama during his campaign. Unlike past presidents, he remembered us and now NBC is here following what will be a recovery. We are just an example of what is happening throughout the country, just so happens we have the highest unumployment rate in the nation right now. We have not asked for a bailout like GM or Chrysler or AIG. We didn't bring this on ourselves and beg the government to rescue us. With the engineering, tooling, and skills we posess, we WILL PREVAIL. Again, don't hate us, just understand we didn't ask for this attention, but with NBC here, we will show you a recovery..

Elkhart is a good example of how a town's focus on one industry can have devistating effects in a downturn.  Just look at Detroit right now, and previously, and Silicon Valley after the dot-com bust.  The larger issue to me is .. didn't anyone have a bit of vision to say . . "gee gas prices are going through the roof. .. .families are getting smaller. . flying is becomming universal. . maybe the RV is a dinosaur???  And then re-tool, re-train, re-locate etc to stave off this economic downfall.  Maybe the lesson here is that relying on one business only in a small region is a bad idea. People place all their eggs in one basket and then everything falls if that industry goes away. 

No doubt from the spirit of the notes here Elkhart will prevail. .but it will have to rise up in a very different way. . without the reliance on one business.. but perhaps many smaller ones to have a thriving economic model for future generations. Rather than railing against this community because your community is in equally bad shape. . . Elkhart should serve as a good expample for many communities across the US.

Perhaps it's not so much that the ecnomic story centers around Elkhart; but that everyone, big city, small town, has a story to tell and does not have the outlet that Elkhart has. It can be very difficult to read about how graduating seniors in Elkhart dont have the money for their cap and gowns, when a lot of kids are trying to find summer jobs to help  their parents feed the family. I live in Louisana, the northwest part and tho this has always been a depressed ecnomic area, it is now more like a third world county and believe me  I do not exaggerate. We have one of the highst infant death rates in the county, we have some of the highst unemployment, drop out, below low income, and non insured health rates in the country. We have lost paper mills, the logging industy, call centers, have been devestated by Hurricanes Katrinia and Rita in the southern gulf, and oh, so much more.  I truly feel for the people of Elkhart, but it is indeed very difficult to read about their problems and the problems in the northeastern part of the country and see hardly anyone bother to remember that there are people  struggling to surrive down here in the southern states.   Mrs. L. Mast.

I agree with those who say they're sick of hearing about this town. I too am sick of hearing of Elkhart. I've been to Elkhart … it really isn't THAT bad. Is it bad? Yes. Do you want to see REALLY BAD, and by that I mean, approaching third world status? Visit one of the many former prosperous cities of upstate New York, where abandoned homes and government corruption are aplenty. Take a visit to Buffalo, NY and visit the undeveloped waterfront full of abandoned industrial buildings. The drive along the elevated "Skyway" is beautiful … I mean who doesn't love driving on an old rusty elevated highway alongside dozens of billboards through industrial wasteland? Capitalism at its finest! Oh and the downtown is absolutely stunning. The abandoned concrete office buildings look so much better compared to the early 18th century buildings they tore down back in the 80's. What about dinner at Buffalo's finest dining establishment? McDonald's is open 24 hours a day! And then there's Rochester. Oh yes, Rochester is a real gem. It's even better than Buffalo. In Rochester, you can explore beautiful neighborhoods full of abandoned homes. The streets abundant with litter. Visit the historical Susan B. Anthony home, it's located right in the middle of a ghetto. For the best shopping experience, just head out to the suburbs to Wal-Mart and Target, where a generic shopping paradise awaits. They have big giant American flags in front of their stores, so clearly they must care about their community, because you know, those big goliath American corporations only have our best interests at heart, I mean it's not like they've been sold out to certain political parties so the rich can stay richer while the rest of America gets financially raped. Implying so would obviously be anti-American, and anti-Americanism is wrong, because you know … this is "God's land". And then there's Syracuse, and Albany, and in PA, Scranton and Allentown, Reading and Harrisburg. The list goes on and on. This truly has become a wonderful nation hasn't it?

Sarcasm aside, when are people going to wake up and realize that this country has become an embarrassment to the world? This is NOT the America of the 1950's and 60's. This is NOT the America that the world once looked up to for progressive ideas and technological advancements. This is NOT the America that people from around the world once thought of as the place with the best living standards. People in this country need to wake up and STOP thinking that our country can only survive on the legacy of what it once was. If you want this country to get better, then you need to face reality and accept that parts of this country are absolute dumps, and it's partly because of the people who live in those places. If you chuck trash out of your window on the interstate, if you'd rather shop at Wal-Mart over a local store, if you do nothing to contribute to the well being of your community, then shut up and stop complaining, because you're only contributing to the problem.

It seems that the biggest export in the good ol' USA today is Jobs, and the biggest import is cheap labor. I think our government is trying their best to turn us into a two class society, the stinkin' rich and the dirt poor. They seem to be succeeding at everything they are doing to our citizens.

Since I don't know if my last comment will be posted because I wasn't logged in, I will resend my comment. I think the biggest import in the USA today is cheap labor and the biggest export is middle class jobs. I think our government is trying their best to turn us into a two class society: The stinkin' rich and the dirt poor. The middle class is a dying resource and it's very sad.

If ther is wasteful spending in the military then it needs to be redirected to spending on equipment our troops in harms way need. But with all the threats the US are facing we need to be very careful about military spendind cuts. Especially with two wars going on and the renewed threat we face from North Korea. There is plenty of pork and pet projects elsewhere in the budget that should be cut, and cut now.