Kokomo, Indiana: From Automotive Boomtown to Nation's 3rd Fastest Dying City!

The Trickle Down Effects Due to the Fall of the Big 3 on This Central in City

I was born and raised right here in the proud city of Kokomo, IN and never dreamed that our city would ever find itself in the current state of dismay. Kokomo is home to 3 Chrysler and 2 Delphi plants that were responsible for employing over a third of the county's population during their prime. However the collapse of the automakers financial security has left our city and it's inhabitants is a state of panic and ruin! Not only were the thousands upon thousands of their own workers laid off, forced into early retirement or offered buy-outs left bewildered and pondering what to do, the countless restaurants, bars, shops, salons and various other retail locations soon began to feel the economic pinch of no longer having their UAW workers incomes at their disposal.

As a server for the local Red Lobster I personally experienced my own income drop by nearly 50%. I had to give up my own home and move in with a family member and my partner has been unemployed for nearly 12 months with no prospect of gainful employment anywhere on the horizon. We boast the second highest unemployment rate in the country with nearly a quarter of our population out of jobs as constantly stated on our local Channel 13 Eyewitness News. Thousands of homes have been repossessed leaving once secure families homeless. Businesses all across the city have had to shut their doors permanently putting even more of our cities residents out of work. It is an eery feeling watching your own home town slowly but surely become a ghost town.