You forgot to mention Y2k.
On a more serious note, I disagree with your conclusion of doom.
I agree that we are still in the early days of this financial crisis. At best, it is durable stagflation; at worst, it is a recession. But I think we are very far from a depression and, more importantly, very far from economic doom.
It is, however, kool-aid drinking at its best to believe that we will have a quick turnaround by the second half of 2008 as some analysts believe. The second half is practically here!
Something else that should be added to your list: the credit crunch. Yes, I know: it is old news. Not really though. The analysts have yet to incorporate the losses from high-yield bonds. This will bring another $150 billion or so to the loss, bringing the total net-worth loss of $1.1 trillion in assets.
Moreover, housing property values are down... by at least 10%. Since Americans will find it harder to use their house as the ATM, they cannot buy goods as often. Since consumer spending makes us the biggest chunk of GDP, that chuck of GDP will fall.
