The Hiller Instinct: The T, Grabauskas & Gov. Patrick

Less than a day after he helped force Dan Grabauskas to resign as the T's general manager, Patrick is already complaining about how the new T--his T-- does business.

The governor says the $327,000 platinum parachute Grabauskas got on his way out is "out of line."

Is that a punch line to a bad joke?  Of course it's too big...after all, the T is more than $5 billion in debt. 

But the "T" has never stood for "thoughtful"

Instead, it's stood for "trouble"...and now it all belongs to the governor.

Do you think fares are going to come down because he's in charge?  Do you think service is going to suddenly improve, or that the T's unions are going to become more cooperative to save the system money? Do you know anyone who thinks that?

I don't.

It's true Dan Grabauskas didn't fix the T...but who has? 

My guess is the T has been broken for as long as you've lived here.  It's like the Big Dig with tracks.

But, the governor wanted it...and now he's got it. And I'd say, for him, the T stands for "threat"...to his re-election.
 
I'm Andy Hiller, and that's my instinct.

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