By Kevin Lavery, KWMU
St. Louis – Missouri Governor Bob Holden was in St. Louis Thursday to tout a job creation package he hopes will win legislative approval.
The governor says redirecting three outdated tax credit programs into a statewide bond issue would target investment in critical infrastructure programs.
Holden says his Jobs Now package would not increase taxes, but create thousands of new jobs.
"You can't put a definite number on it, but I can tell you for every $1 million we invest in infrastructure, there's $17 million of return to the taxpayers of the state of Missouri," Holden said. "That's a pretty good ratio."
Holden adds the program would also help local communities raise matching funds to leverage federal dollars used to pay for large scale public projects.