Last night, the Nightly Business Report - a show that I respect for actually being old-fashioned and reporting the facts rather than sensationalizing financial “news”, had Alice Rivlin giving an editorial piece:

“Commentary”-What’s Good About The Housing Crisis

Monday, April 21, 2008 SUSIE GHARIB: Tonight’s commentator says there’s a silver lining of sorts in the housing crisis. She’s Alice Rivlin, former vice chair of the Federal Reserve and senior fellow at Brookings.

ALICE RIVLIN, SENIOR FELLOW, BROOKINGS: If you think the bursting housing bubble is an unmitigated disaster, think again. A seller’s loss is a buyer’s gain. Many urban areas with strong housing markets have become unaffordable to ordinary working people. Workers in stores, offices, restaurants and construction endure exhausting commutes to far suburbs to find an affordable home. Teachers, police, firefighters, nurses and medical technicians live long distances from the communities they serve and the skyrocketing price of gas has made their commutes increasingly costly.

The housing slump, painful as it is for many current homeowners, will have two positive effects. First, it will slow the sprawl of cities into the far exurbs that adds to congestion, pollution and time on the road. Second, it will make living closer to work more affordable for millions of families. The market will accomplish most of the change without public intervention. But community land trusts also have a chance with state and Federal help to buy distressed properties at bargain prices. They can fix up homes, save neighborhoods from the blight of vacant and vandalized dwellings and rent or sell them to low and moderate income workers. This ill wind could blow many families into more convenient, affordable housing. I’m Alice Rivlin.

Silver linings are what you see right after you are blinded by someone blowing sunshine up your ass. The housing crisis is an “unmitigated disaster.” Regardless of the spin, it’s a disaster - not “positive” and not just a “slump.” Suggesting that this unmitigated disaster will reduce energy consumption and lower pollution was a nice touch by Alice but come on - it won’t provide any measurable effects on those accounts.

Alice is not the only one trying to suggest that we should be thankful for the housing crisis and how it is helping reduce housing costs for some segments of society. For some people that love wealth redistribution, the housing crisis seems to be a great new opportunity. Instead of redistributing wealth through taxing the rich and giving to the poor through social programs, we can just use the housing crisis. What a joke. I’ve heard this silver lining crap too much lately to think it’s just a bunch of random bullshit. Listen up for more talk like this. It seems to help pave the way for more socialist involvement and governments buying up mortgages and houses.