This can’t be Iowa. This has to be some George Bailey-style dream.

Iowans don’t throw money around like this. We’ve always sat back with one hand on our wallet, watching other people build a Gateway Arch or lure a professional sports team.

All of a sudden, here in the 21st century our money is flowing like water, except water freezes sometimes and this cascade seems to be nonstop.

Was it the gambling bonanza that made us so confident? Were we truly amazed to realize just how easy it is to drain cash from tattered pockets? It’s stunning to visit the table game area at Prairie Meadows and find no place to sit. A state that’s always been called cautious apparently was just waiting for the chance to pour money into craps.

Or maybe the influx of people from big cities has had its effect on Central Iowa; maybe enough medium- to high-rollers showed up here saying, “You know, it’s really not that hard to think big,” and we decided they must be right. After all, they were from someplace else.

The Principal Riverwalk, for example, is going to be a wonderful addition to downtown, but two things strike you about the latest estimated cost of $57 million: (1) That’s a lot more than the figure everybody had accepted; and (2) That’s just a lot.

The new Science Center of Iowa cost $62 million, the new public library is $30 million or so, and then there’s the freeway reconstruction, with a cost beyond the limits of the average pocket calculator.

Down at the personal spending level, the condominium in the spire of the yet-to-be-completed Soho Lofts is priced at $330,000. Cool space, interesting location, but a staggering sum for the former neighborhood of Al’s Locust Billiards.

Over at the Brown Camp Lofts, it’s reported that a second indoor parking spot will cost you more than $20,000. And we thought the price of gas was the problem.

Now the Iowa Events Center has announced that its luxury seats are going fast. That’s excellent news for the new kid on the block and for countless small businesses and employees who are depending on its success.

But who would have guessed a few years ago that we would shell out up to $1,700 for a club seat (out of 636, more than half are spoken for); or up to $19,000 per year for an eight-seat loge box (all 20 have been purchased); or as much as $60,500 for a luxury suite (only four left out of 36).

General Manager Andy Long was quoted: “For some of the shows, premium seating is the only option, since many of the shows have sold out.”

See, there’s the difference between old and new. Old Iowa was a place where people would say, “Well, that’s all right if all the tickets are gone; I’d best be saving some money anyway.” Or, “Why would you buy such expensive tickets in the first place, when you can watch TV for free?”

In New Iowa, we say, “Gimme the best you got. I’ll pay you later.”