The old saying, If you can’t do the time, don’t do the crime, may be giving way to a new one: If you can’t pay for the time, don’t do the crime. Should people convicted of a crime be forced to pay the costs of their jail stay?... Read full article

Resume inflation—with its over-written under-achievements—has long set the workplace standard for autobiographical unacceptability. But is resume deflation, like hiding advanced degrees and changing too-lofty titles, just as irresponsible?... Read full article

“Boomerangers” — adult offspring who return to live with their parents — have been the stuff of sitcoms and punch lines. But the freeloader image may become a casualty of the recession, which is reshaping what it means to be a responsible American family in an era of mounting crises.... Read full article

It’s the recession question being asked across America: would you volunteer for an unpaid furlough to keep your colleagues from losing their jobs? Thousands of workers in dozens of industries are making the trade-off of losing pay for saving jobs. But is everyone stepping up simply because it’s the responsible thing to do?... Read full article

Does being your brother’s keeper mean you have to pay his mortgage? In the new era of billion dollar bailouts, Americans across the country are re-examining long-held views about personal responsibility with a question that’s hitting close to home: Is it fair to make people who faithfully paid their mortgages bail out those who didn’t?... Read full article

Sir Lancelot was a yellow Lab that loved bagels, pillows, and shoes. His death last year from skin cancer devastated his owners, who later turned his DNA over to a company that clones pets. When the new clone arrived, so did the criticism. Is paying $155,000 to clone a dead pet responsible, irresponsible, or something else altogether?... Read full article

The 50-inch plasma TV cost $798. The 10 megapixel camera cost $69. And the Black Friday shoppers determined to get those door-buster bargains cost a Wal-Mart employee his life. The ugly scene that shocked America during the Thanksgiving holiday raises numerous questions of responsibility.... Read full article

Thanksgiving marks the start of the traditional holiday gift-buying season. Some say it’s madness. Some say it’s fondness for everyone we want—or feel compelled—to remember with a present. And some say it’s time to rethink a more responsible approach to holiday giving, especially in this year’s brutal economy.... Read full article

Reducing your carbon footprint is the current mantra of environmental responsibility. But going green costs green, and some small businesses are now asking their customers to pay extra to help them. Where does personal responsibility end and business responsibility begin when it comes to the cost of helping the environment?... Read full article

If you do the right thing, should you expect to be rewarded? Yes, say three men in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The men—all city-employed water department workers—were on the job when they discovered an abandoned safe at the side of a road. The safe had been stolen by robbers who broke through the wall of a local bank during a winter ice storm.... Read full article