Mike Beebe (D)

To that end, Beebe vowed to spend the money on one-time programs and not create future expenditures. He said Arkansas' top priorities for the money are "to create or retain jobs and give the taxpayers something for their money." The state also created a web site to show how its $2.9 million allotment of the stimulus money has been spent.

Beebe's economic approach is concentrated mainly on tax cuts. One hot-button issue during the 2006 gubernatorial campaign was the elimination of the state's six percent grocery tax, which Beebe called the most regressive tax of all because the poor end up paying a higher percentage of their income towards it than the rich or middle class. Soon after he entered office, Beebe signed $200 million in tax cuts, including a 50 percent reduction in the grocery tax.

In March 2009 he cut the tax further from three percent to two percent. He supports giving businesses tax exemptions on utility consumption in an attempt to make Arkansas more competitive. He also supports cutting taxes for farmers to help keep their farms alive.

Education

Beebe's main focus as governor is education, he says. "Not only is education our first legal obligation; it is our first moral obligation," he said in a radio address in December 2007. Beebe has an ambitious education plan that includes an additional $19 million more than the amount recommended by the state education committee for schools and students with special needs. He also wants Arkansas to provide free preschool for all families earning up to 200 percent of the poverty line. "High-quality preschool education increases the ability of low-income children to succeed in elementary and secondary school, increasing high school graduation rates and generating economic returns for taxpayers in the form of better paying jobs," he said in the address.

During his 2006 campaign for governor, Beebe introduced his "Traveling Teachers" program. The program would pool talented teachers in specific subject areas and allow them to travel between rural schools. Beebe says his administration is still working toward instituting the program.

Health Care

In 2007, Beebe created ARHealthNet, a government benefit health plan for small businesses with between 2 and 500 employees. Under the program a company must enroll all of its employees who are considered low income and half of those who are not low income. For those workers at or below 200 percent of the federal poverty level, premiums are subsidized by tobacco settlement funds and Medicaid. Beebe has also called for increased spending to improve hospital emergency rooms and primary care facilities.

Much of the money to fund this increased health-care spending will come from a 36 percent tax increase on tobacco products that was enacted in February 2009. When Beebe signed legislation increasing the tax on cigarettes from $.59 to $1.15, he referred to it as a "comprehensive health-care initiative" because the money raised by the tax would go toward paying for his $85 million health-care plan.

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