The late Bill Niskanen, the former Reagan economist and Cato Institute chairman, once did a famous analysis finding that every time a kid graduates from law school he or she will on average cost the economy about $50,000 in a deadweight loss. And that was thirty years ago.

We thought about that when we saw this story about billboards in Philadelphia. It’s not just Philly. Drive through Texas or Florida or Atlanta and just about any other city and state, every other billboard you will see is a rent-seeking trial lawyer ad.