I would genuinely love to be paid $327,000 to quit my job, wouldn't you?  Maybe I'll float the idea to my boss.  Oh, but I actually do my job.  Why would anyone reward anyone for that? Crazy.

It'll be interesting to see what Governor Patrick does with this.  As Adrian Walker says in today's Globe, "Now he owns the MBTA and everything that’s wrong with it. There’s no one left to blame."

Maybe he's got an ace up his sleeve, but I'm not sure there's much anybody can do to fix the T right now.  And if James Aloisi, a Patrick appointee with a long and sordid history with the Big Dig, is any indication of his visionary leadership on public transportation, we can look forward to paying $17.50 for a one-way fare, and it'll still be quicker to walk.

But maybe this whole bicycle renaissance thing'll work out.  Maybe an enterprising entrepreneur will introduce a sleek fleet of rickshaws, giving out-of-work T-operators a second shot.  Or it could be that the complete collapse of viable transportation will actually usher in a Golden Age of staying home in Boston.  Yahtzee anyone?

As it becomes harder to get from one place to another, fledgling neighborhoods tenuously poised for a comeback may collapse, businesses that had thrived due to proximity to public transit (like those in Davis Square) may wither and die, but think of all the nature that'll return as abandoned buildings provide shelter for wildlife and forests return to the concrete jungle...

In our newly burnt-out, blighted neighborhoods, housing costs will finally become affordable to those of us on a budget, and even eventually those of us without a budget, as businesses and middle class families flee for their lives.  Formerly boringly safe and tidy streets will become havens for edgy taggers and graffiti outlaws!  Art and nature will reign!

White flight will further segregate what is already a segregated city, but it'll be a boon for suburban development!  Those unable to escape the spiral of urban poverty will provide the rest of us with a hot topic of conversation over chicken parmesan tanglers and boneless buffalo wings at the strip mall Applebee's!  Their hopelessness will give us an excuse to ask each other "where's the outrage???"

See, like I always say: there's always a silver-lining!

A brief aside: I've often wondered why no one has thought to bring a class-action suit against the T for unfair fare policies and service cuts impacting mostly minority neighborhoods.  The T's cash surcharge (aside from being a blatant tourist tax) targets the poor and non-English speaking populations who may not have easy access to Charlie cards (as was promised) or may not understand that they're paying significantly more for fares by paying cash. 

And I wonder if riders could sue to reinstate a fare freeze.  Especially now, as transportation reforms may mean the MBTA advisory board may be downgraded to “a consultant board,” meaning less of a voice for T riders in the overall scheme of things.

Just wondering...