Another side of the income debate

I read [in the Dec. 31 IBJ], with great dismay, that a millionaire lawyer is not able to charge his clients as much as an attorney in another state. Thank goodness you have Mitch Daniels to blame for this great tragedy. Just imagine, another attorney is getting 25 percent more. I bet his clients are delighted to pay extra; they must be getting 25-percent better “lawyering.”

I work with clients in more than 30 states as a consultant and my practice is limited to health professionals, primarily dentists. My Indiana dentists do charge less for many procedures than my clients in New York, Chicago, Arizona, etc., and they do not feel badly about it. They charge less because their costs are less. Professional liability (malpractice) insurance is substantially less in Indiana and wage costs are somewhat less here, also. This means patients pay less and have more money for other discretionary expenses.

My wife’s cousins moved to Carmel from a Chicago suburb to enjoy a much lower cost of living, not to mention a much healthier political climate.

Efroymson’s comment, “It’s just part of the culture” seems to capture one of the charming facets of Indiana. We do not feel it necessary to gouge and charge fees which only end up in making the culture money-oriented rather than quality-of-life-oriented. That is one of the benefits we received when we moved our business to Indiana in 2000. It is a great place to work and live.

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Jim Miller
Carmel