Snoopy over at River City Rapids and I have been posting on the Richmond Mayor Wilder proposal to cut funding to the Greater Richmond Partnership (GRP), a regional economic development organization. [Note to Snoopy: I’m not saying economic development posts put me to sleep; I’m saying they appear to put our readers to sleep.] Maybe next year the Shad Planking could be about the politics of economic development signs.

Anyway, Snoopy’s at it again, covering Wilder advisor (and former Bacon’s Rebellion contributor) Paul Goldman’s broadside against the GRP.

I’m with Snoopy on this one. Goldman’s criticism of the Partnership smacks of a variance on class warfare: “The public has been shut out, and a handful of power brokers have had their way for too long.” Of course, he is as sharp a political advisor as there is in Virginia, so maybe he’s made all the calculations before embarking on this track. Goldman’s contention that the city’s own economic development team could better use the money now sent to the GRP, however, is dubious at best. The city’s current economic development team, not exactly the most highly regarded in economic development circles, is also getting cut.

There’s a case to be made for examining duplication and resource allocation among state, regional and local economic development organizations, but it’s not being made. It’s just cut and run.