As a president who was no stranger to challenging times, Harry Truman once said, "A pessimist makes difficulties of his opportunities; an optimist makes opportunities of his difficulties." Like the rest of the nation, Arkansas finds itself facing such difficulties amid a turbulent economic climate that tests the fortitude of our people. On an almost daily basis, my office receives new reports of businesses, big and small, cutting back or closing down completely. More of our people struggle to make ends meet and care for their families. I believe that our true test as a State will be in the steps we take to ride out this economic tide and find opportunities amid our struggles.

One such opportunity is before us now in the federal stimulus bill recently signed by President Obama. Arkansas's challenge is to responsibly allocate our share of the economic-recovery program to best serve the long-term needs of our State and get people back to work immediately.

Most of this money has already been designated to enhance established programs, meaning we will not have much discretion over how most of the money is spent. Still, the needs in our communities are urgent, and the impact of this investment can benefit our State for generations to come. Our guiding principle is to advance projects and initiatives that will lay the groundwork for the future growth of Arkansas.

Some of the first work done will involve improving and modernizing our roads, highways, and bridges. These projects will make our State a safer place to live and work; they will create immediate jobs and make us more attractive to new business development. Our infrastructure opportunities reach beyond steel and asphalt. We will explore a rural broadband initiative to further both our educational and economic goals by bringing high-speed Internet access to people in the furthermost reaches of Arkansas. Modernizing public school facilities and retrofitting public buildings for greater energy efficiency serves our fiscal, educational, and environmental bottom lines, simultaneously. Each of these projects - and many more like them - will improve Arkansas in the long term, while helping to save the jobs of companies already needing support and creating much-needed new ones to keep our economy steady.

Of course, all of these opportunities must be undertaken with responsibility, transparency, and appropriate oversight. To that end, I have established the Governor's Recovery Cabinet, which next week convenes the leadership of key state agencies that will participate in this process. Soon, a state Web site will be established to provide transparency by listing every dollar of the stimulus package spent in Arkansas, similar to the Obama administration's Web site established at recovery.gov. Arkansans will be able to access information and have questions answered on the site concerning the investment of these taxpayer funds. This is your money - and your leaders should be held accountable for how it is managed.

The stimulus package gives me great hope that Arkansas's recovery will be steady, if not swift, and will eventually put our State in a stronger position than ever before. But this hope must be tempered by realism. We live in precarious times, and our decisions on how to invest this recovery money must be made with wisdom, caution, and deliberation.

As long as we act boldly and remain honest and open with the people of Arkansas, we can look to the future of our State with the confidence and optimism that President Truman prescribed. We can shape greater opportunities for our citizens from the difficult times we now inhabit. Although we fare much better than most states, too many of our fellow Arkansans are suffering the effects of our nation's economic crisis. It's a time for strong economic leadership and forward thinking to put our State and her people on the path to recovery and prosperity. ]]>