The big news of 2008 was the beginning of the Great
Recession.
The big news of 2009 was the advent of the historic new
Obama Administration.
The big news of 2010 was passage of the Health Care Law.
The big news of 2011 was the downgrading of the U.S.'s
credit rating.
The big news of 2012 may be inflation--rising prices across
the board.
The big news of 2013 (possibly sooner) may well be the end
of the U.S. dollar as the world's reserve currency. If this happens, U.S.
wealth will sharply decline.