my list included : a contrived housing bubble melt down ; extreme political partisanship on both sides ; gas nearing $ 4.00 a gallon ; the countrys increasing dependence on unfriendly foreign countries for diminishing oil supplies ; corporations outsourcing manufacturing jobs to slave labor countries ; wholesale redistribution of the nations wealth to the upper one percent via ridiculous tax laws ; the destruction of the nations middle class ; more saber rattling as russia invaded the small country of georgia in spite of the our empty threats ; major financial institutions failing because of their insane lending practice of providing home loans to people with no jobs , no money , and bad credit ; ignoring the growing evidence of global warming ; wars in iraq and afghanistan looking as if they will continue in perpetuity ; federal deficits increasing beyond sustainable levels ; the dollars pending loss of reserve currency status ; unsustainable world population growth ; agricultural-corporations intentions of destroying the family farms ; evangelical christianity rising as a counter productive political force ; and lastly , failure to maintain or upgrade our national transportation infrastructure .