a039  0923  24 Feb 90
PM-BRF--Lawyers Loot,0124
Economist: Lawyers a 'Black Hole' in Economy
    AUSTIN, Texas (AP) - Each lawyer in the United States costs the
economy an average of $1 million per year, according to a finance
professor who believes the country's economy weakens as the number of
attorneys increases.
    Steven Magee, a University of Texas-Austin professor who was an
economist in the Nixon administration, said Friday the country's
500,000 lawyers are dampening the gross national product by $500
billion, or about 10 percent.
    Magee theorizes that the effect is caused by wealthy corporations
and individuals who hire lawyers to ''get their hands into each
others pockets.''
    These findings are part of a book Magee co-authored titled ''Black
Hole Tariffs and Endogenous Policy Theory.''
    
 
AP-NY-02-24-90 0447EST
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