Truth
Keystone RV Co., the county's third-largest employer, laid off 10 percent of its work force last week -- a total of 290 employees.
The following day, Pilgrim International indefinitely laid off 178 workers and closed its four plants.
Elkhart County's unemployment rate jumped to 7 percent in June, a 3 percent increase over the same month in 2007. By the middle of September, when Monaco Coach plans to close three county plants and lay off 1,400 workers, the jobless rate could rocket past 8 percent.
Fewer than three months remain before Election Day. We need to know today -- and in detail -- what kind of help we can expect from the state's next governor.
Gov. Mitch Daniels, on his re-election Web site, points to a string of economic achievements since taking office in 2005 -- creation of the best business climate in the Midwest, 50,000 additional jobs and the lowest unemployment rate in the region. Elsewhere, he offers a list of successes that includes the new Honda plant in Greensburg, a new GETRAG transmission plant in Tipton and a new Really Cool Foods production and distribution center in Cambridge City.
Ask a laid-off Keystone worker about the business climate in Elkhart County. Chat with a former Pilgrim employee about the state's glittering 5.8 percent unemployment rate.
See if anybody wants to organize a car pool to Greensburg, Tipton or Cambridge City.
Daniels showed up in May for the announcement of an expansion at KIK Industries in Elkhart, which will create 190 jobs at an average hourly rate of $13.95. Elkhart persuaded KIK to expand by offering nearly $1.6 million in tax abatements. The state chipped in an extra $600,000 in tax credits and training grants.
KIK's 190 new jobs barely cover what the county lost last week when Pilgrim closed.
Jill Long Thompson, the Democratic nominee for governor, wasted no time blaming last week's job losses on Daniels. In a Friday news release, she pointed to the Keystone layoffs as proof that the governor's economic policies had failed.
"We can't continue to allow good-paying jobs to evaporate while our state government and our leaders do nothing to change the situation," Long Thompson said.
Her solution? According to her Web site, she'll consult with state and local leaders to develop an economic development "tier" system.
"Specifically," the site explains, "Jill will categorize the state's 92 counties into three different economic tiers based on a variety of factors and then allocate different tax incentives as a way to create jobs all across the state, focusing on areas in greatest need of economic revitalization."
"A variety of factors." "Different tax incentives." If those are the specifics, Long Thompson offers little hope for Elkhart County.
We need more than vague promises and reports of good news from other parts of the state. We need Jill Long Thompson and Mitch Daniels to explain in detail how they plan to help us.