BRINGING QUALITY JOBS TO MISSOURI

This past week we took an important step forward with our job creation efforts—we passed legislation to expand a proven, successful program responsible for thousands of new jobs and billions of dollars of new investments in Missouri.
The nation’s economic downturn has stymied the healthy job growth we enjoyed just a few years ago. Even in trying times, our Quality Jobs Program has successfully brought many beneficial, high-paying jobs to our state. Since its creation in 2005, the program helped create more than 22,000 jobs in more than 65 cities around the state. It has also helped our state retain nearly 2,500 jobs. As the name of the program implies, the jobs that have been created and retained are quality jobs that pay above-average wages and provide health insurance. According to the Missouri Department of Economic Development, the average wage of the jobs created by the program is in excess of $53,000 annually and the average annual wage of those retained is nearly $74,000. In total, the Quality Jobs projects created in the first three years of the program resulted in more than $2.5 billion in new investment in our state.
The results produced by the program have been a huge success and quite impressive. The legislature increased tax credit caps in 2007 and again in 2008 to allow more projects to be approved. However, demand has still exceeded supply. The bill we approved this year removes the tax credit caps in order to approve projects all across the state. As a result, our area will not be forced to compete with others for limited dollars. Some may question removing the caps entirely. Rest assured that the program is designed to prevent abuse of this newly passed legislation. Tax credits are issued only after the projects create jobs and produce results. We also know that for every dollar we invest in the program, we get more than three dollars in return. This is a wise investment for our state. The Quality Jobs Program has proven to be the most powerful economic development and job creation tool in Missouri.
I supported the expansion of the Quality Jobs Program because I know it’s the right thing to do for our state. It will get our economy back on track. The program is a proven commodity and one we know will continue to create the kind of jobs that Missourians want and need. In the coming weeks we will work with the Senate to ensure this key component of our Family Recovery Plan is sent to the governor’s desk to be signed into law.