The state treasurer's office should take a lead in providing financial relief to laid-off workers in Missouri, a Democratic candidate for state treasurer said Wednesday.

The candidate, Bob Holden, proposed expanding the MO BUCKS program to offer low-interest loans to those workers who are currently out of work.

"We, as a state, have to take action and be involved," Holden said during a campaign stop in Cape Girardeau. "People are the best resource Missouri has."

Holden said, "It's time we start working with individuals and rebuilding the human infrastructure in the state."

Currently, the MO BUCKS program offers low-interest loans to businesses. The state deposits funds in Missouri banks, which, in turn, make the loans.

"Many Missouri workers who have lost their jobs due to plant closings and company restructuring are highly skilled, talented and experienced employees.

"The state must find ways to jump start their ability to move into other jobs," said Holden, a former state representative.

Under Holden's plan, the state would deposit state funds into financial institutions at a reduced earned interest. The institutions, in turn, would pass the savings on to displaced workers for education and retraining, for the creation of small businesses or for covering the costs of workers who are between jobs.

Holden stressed that each loan would be subject to the individual bank's credit criteria and collateral requirements.

He maintained that such workers are credit worthy and simply need assistance to get started on the path to employment again.

Nearly 7,000 Missourians lost their jobs last year due to plant closings, said Holden. That doesn't include those industries that scaled back operations.

Holden said not all employees qualify for federal aid. It's up to the state, he said, to make sure that such workers don't fall through the cracks.

Holden, who lost to State Treasurer Wendell Bailey in 1988, said expanding the MO BUCKS program to help displaced workers would ultimately aid the economy.

"You rebuild a state economy one street, one neighborhood, one block at a time," he pointed out.

Laid-off workers are a "tremendous economic loss" for the state, he said. In addition, it's demoralizing for workers who have been laid off. Plus, there's a cost to society in terms of crime, alcoholism, drug abuse and other problems, Holden said.

"Society pays in many, many ways for unemployment," he observed.

Holden, who has called for a state economic summit, maintained the state's political leaders should work together to tackle Missouri's economic problems.

Missouri's citizens, he said, want results. "They want to see results. They want to see governmental leaders getting things done."