Thankfully, my sister is about to pass the bar and take a job in corp law, so I'll have a free resource that I have no compunctions about bothering (hey, if she's not going to babysit, she can at least review contracts!).

(Not-so-thankfully, she'll be making more than I do straight out of college. This bothers me in a very sharp and visceral way.)

Except they don't have any of my sympathy because they have officially-recognized bars, certifications, and boards to ensure they are paid what they are actually worth. Because of this, the advice they get solicited for comes from respect, not because what they do "must be easy".

Or to put it another way, to artificially erect barriers to entry that ensure they get paid more than they would in a freer market.

Now imagine that guy representing you at a murder trial.

I like the barriers.

It's also worth remembering that plenty of indigent people in this country are effectively represented by 'that guy,' including in murder trials. Look at the cases of Calvin Burdine or George McFarland, both of whose court-appointed attorneys slept through their trials. Are those barriers really doing what you want them to do?

The top computer programmers also make as much as top lawyers and doctors - possibly more if you count entrepreneurs.

It's not so much a price / cost issue as it is a respect issue. Can you imagine how the legal or medical profession would suffer if anyone off the street could claim to be a lawyer or doctor and get hired for the job?

Later that year he came to me and complained that his computer was slow, and wondered if I could look at it...

My dad is a contractor, and my mom is an interior designer. Family members, people from church, and random people alike assume that means that they can come fix whatever little problem they're having, or pick out drapes and furniture for their living room.