We are trying very hard to keep an open mind — and a thimble of optimism — about what lies ahead under the new administration of soon-to-be President Donald Trump.

Honestly, it is quite difficult.

So far, the only light in the tunnel has been the announcement Tuesday that 1,000 factory jobs with Carrier, the heating, air conditioning and refrigeration manufacturer, will remain in Indiana because of a deal struck with the company by the incoming Republican president and Vice President-elect Mike Pence, who is still the governor of the Hoosier state.

The company announced plans in February to close its air conditioning plant in Indianapolis that employs 1,400 people and move the jobs to Mexico starting in 2017. A nearby plant also owned by Carrier’s parent company, United Technologies Electronic Controls, also had announced its planned move to Mexico, taking 700 jobs, but that plant was not a part of the new deal.

While we are glad that scores of families in Indiana still will have an income during these tenuous economic times, we are concerned that the light we see in the tunnel may be that of an oncoming train. There has been no information on the details of the deal, with suggestions that the Trump-Pence team may have offered “incentives” for the company to remain in Indiana.

What incentives?

Is it a promise to lower the corporate tax rate to 15 percent from the current 35 percent — a pledge that the president-elect’s selection for treasury secretary reiterated on Wednesday? If so, how will reducing Carrier’s taxes — along with those of companies across the nation — impact the federal budget? Will the Indiana workers still have jobs, but find that education, transportation, veterans and health services in their communities and across the nation are seriously rolled back because of a reduction of federal dollars?

The president-elect crowed on the campaign trail about his skills in making deals, including threats to hit companies — including Carrier — with a 35 percent tariff if they move jobs out of the country.

But governing the nation isn’t like starring in a reality show. And President-elect Trump and his posse need to act with caution, balance and public transparency in such “deals” with Carrier and other companies. The taxpayers deserve a clear understanding of what was offered to gain this week’s limelight.

Already, we see from the president-elect’s announced cabinet picks that we’re in for a rocky road for the next four years. Aside from racist, white supremacist sympathizer Steve Bannon whom President-elect Trump has named as his White House chief strategist and senior counselor, he has chosen a secretary of education, Betsy DeVos of Michigan, who has a history of battling public education, and a health and human services secretary, Congressman Tom Price of Georgia, who has led Republican opposition to the federal law expanding health care for the uninsured.

An anti-public education education secretary and an anti-health care health secretary? What sense does that make?

Ms. DeVos created the American Federation for Children, an arm of the Alliance for School Choice. She supports charter schools and private school vouchers — plans that education advocates argue would drive a stake through the heart of public schools by de-funding them and sending the dollars to private schools. She and her husband, the son of an Amway co-founder whose family owns the Orlando Magic basketball team, founded a charter school in Michigan in 2010 focused on aviation. It is located in Grand Rapids at the Gerald R. Ford International Airport.

Congressman Price is an orthopedic surgeon who represents a wealthy suburban Atlanta district. He helped draft several bills to replace the federal Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare. The president-elect said this week that he selected Dr. Price “to shepherd our commitment to repeal and replace Obamacare and bring affordable and accessible health care to every American.”

During the campaign, we heard no plans for a new health care program from the Republican candidate, nor have we heard any details beyond a pledge to disembowel and disarticulate Obamacare.

Dr. Price also has said he supports major changes to Medicare and Medicaid health insurance programs for seniors and the poor. For example, he supports converting Medicaid into a block grant program to the states that would require people to work in order to receive health care benefits.

Yes, we have a lot to watch out for and President-elect Trump hasn’t even been inaugurated. The weeks and months ahead will require vigilance, analysis and cooperative action.

Are you ready?