PROP B: LAW OF UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES

This looks like another instance of the Law of Unintended Consequences.

A ballot initiative proposed by anti-billboard interests received enough signatures to get on the Missouri ballot. The measure, known as Proposition A, would have banned new billboard construction. Prop A was the subject of a spirited campaign. After millions of dollars were spent on both sides, voters narrowly defeated the measure, which also would have required some billboards to come down.

The unintended consequence is that the proposition resulted in a run by outdoor advertising companies on more permits for more billboards. Hundreds of new signs went up along highways in the months leading up to the election. Seems the companies were fearful that the measure would pass and wanted to build all they could while it was still legal to do so. So we have more billboards lining Missouri highways than would have been the case if the measure had never been proposed.