– Democratic Gov. Jay Nixon on Tuesday visited Kansas City to announce new steps to ease economic tensions in the region between Missouri and Kansas.

In remarks to the Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce, Nixon called for a voluntary moratorium within the region of the use of discretionary tax incentives where jobs are moving from state to state.

“There is no reason another dime of taxpayers’ money should be spent to subsidize the movement of jobs within this region,” he said.

Nixon acknowledged that such a change would require legislation from both states, and that he would be working with the Missouri General Assembly, as well as Kansas City, Mo., officials to discourage tax incentives from being used in such a way.

Nixon, according to prepared remarks, said the so-called “border war” between the two states is bad for taxpayers, budgets, and the economybo as a whole, and said the two states should be focused on competing internationally instead of just regionally.

“The high-stakes competition that really matters, the one we simply cannot lose, isn’t between Kansas and Missouri, or between Jackson County and Johnson County,” Nixon said. “It’s with Brazil and China; Russia and South Korea; Germany and India.”

Nixon reiterated his pledge to increase funding for preschool and K-12 schools in the state, and said a focus on making Missouri’s high school and college graduates more competitive is where the state should be focusing its energy.

Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback, a Republican, said on a recent visit to St. Louis that he was open to a moratorium on tax credits.

“I don’t like the idea of subsidizing businesses to move to another state. I am all for competition but I think the better way to compete is tax structure,” he said.