More proof of the Peter Principle, as if more were needed...

The Peter Principle:  "In a hierarchy every employee tends to rise to his level of incompetence".  Proposed by Dr. Laurence J. Peter and Raymond Hull in their  book The Peter Principle, which was meant as a joke.

But its true.  Here be the proof:

WASHINGTON/NEW YORK (Reuters) – AOL Inc will buy Arianna Huffington's influential website for $315 million, looking to the high-profile liberal pundit to rescue it from the dustbin of Internet history.

The move, announced Monday, comes at a hefty premium. AOL is estimated to be paying 32 times earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization for The Huffington Post, said Benchmark Co analyst Clayton Moran.

Yes friends, in corporate America even the least gifted can rise to command great power.  A seat on the Board of Directors does not necessarily require great business acumen, at AOL even a functioning brain apparently is not required.  AOL's stock price reflects the esteem in which this decision is held in the greater community, down double digits since yesterday and still headed south.

This, in a nutshell, is why I am a supporter of free markets over government. It isn't that management of private industry is more moral, more intelligent, more diligent or more effective than government.  Its just that when they screw up, bad things happen to them.

The Phantom