The recently released MTA Inspector General report on excess employee overtime and safety issues is nothing new.  Every generation of MTA chairmen, agency presidents, board members, finance officers and executive management, who manage agency budgets, has made the wrong choice.

They believed it would be cheaper to pay overtime than hire additional employees, whose critical specialized skills were necessary for maintaining functioning safe and reliable transportation operations.  They thought it would be less expensive by avoiding the costs of training, full-time salary plus fringe benefits, medical insurance and pensions by not increasing the headcounts of various departments.  This has contributed to excessive overtime and potential safety issues.