While this is doing terrible damage to our economy and the general psychie of the average US consumer, I see it as a good thing in the long term. People will live closer to work and the city. We will use oil/fossel fuels more efficinetly and will reduce our Carbon footprints on a nationwide scale.

Indeed. With the north pole likely to be ice-free this summer for the first time in recorded history, it may be the only thing keeping us from self-destructing.