There's a new video being passed around by folks who believe a housing-supply shortage is the prime factor behind sharply rising rents.

In it, the Seattle-based Sightline Institute's senior researcher, Dan Bertolet, likens this crisis to a cruel game of musical chairs.

He suggests the root of the problem is that there simply aren't enough places to live. 

The one major difference between the children's game and the shortage of homes, according to Bertolet, is that "in the housing market, instead of being fast, you just need to be rich."

You can watch the video below. It also makes a connection between the housing shortage and traffic congestion because some of the people being priced out of cities end up driving longer distances to reach their destinations.

The Sightline Institute, formerly known as Northwest Environment Watch, was founded in 1993 by environmentalist and author Alan Durning. He's a former senior researcher at the Worldwatch Institute and a long-time commentator on issues relating to the region known as Cascadia.