10:54 AM CDT on Tuesday, August 16, 2005

At the end of the unconventional Christmas classic Trading Places , characters played by Eddie Murphy, Dan Aykroyd and Jamie Lee Curtis lounge around a beautiful tropical paradise. They have just become fabulously wealthy and are wondering what to have for lunch: cracked crab or lobster. Then someone asks the obvious question: "Can't we have both?"

"The Price of Prosperity," a three-part series that wraps up in The Dallas Morning News today, paints the picture of a growing "Can't we have both?" mentality in modern society. Although the statistics and stories focus on Collin County, one of the richest areas in the U.S., the mentality is evident on lesser scales throughout North Texas and, indeed, the nation.

The story is just a little more ironic in Collin County because it is, perhaps, the reddest county in a very red state. And it's home to a lot of fiscal conservatives who preach family values – while spending more than they have and spoiling their children.

Some of the same people who have filed for the record number of bankruptcies in Collin County in recent years surely have criticized political leaders for "not making tough choices." With tax dollars, it seems so clear to them. But with credit cards lining their wallets and an image to keep up, somehow rhetorical "tough choices" seem impossible.

To be sure, not everyone in Collin County, and not everyone with credit card debt, is in too deep. But to many so-called fiscal conservatives, it seems perfectly OK to cut taxes and increase spending on a war at the same time. And if that's defensible, then it certainly makes sense to buy those new $10,000 granite countertops now, rather saving for them. After all, the Joneses have them now.

And it also seems reasonable to optimistically extend your credit, predicting nothing but sunny skies ahead, even when those around you have been washed away by rainy days they never saw coming.

So, in a world where buying a brand-new Honda Civic instead of a brand-new BMW for Little Suzy on her Sweet 16 is seen as conservative , why not give her everything she wants and still expect her to understand the value of money and hard work?

And therein lies the true danger. If parents today sheepishly admit to wanting it all, their children, never knowing anything else, will absolutely demand it. How does your family compare? Calculate your Collin County quotient. Also, chat with series reporter Paula Lavigne today at 11:30