There are many more than one, and none of them is more important than the others. Perhaps the elimination of the corruption that exists at the lowest to the highest levels of government might help solve the other problems.

Additional issues:

The rise of Generation Entitled - no one owes you more than you have earned other than your basic civil rights. It is time for those with this pervasive sense of entitlement to grow up, get off their backsides, and start working like everyone else.
Corporate Greed - this goes hand in glove with government corruption. Look at the recent financial crisis, the bail outs, and the behavior of corporations afterward. Those "Too big to fail" should now be required to stand accountable for all behavior before and since. It is past time for the Enrons, AIGs, GMs, Goldman Sachs and Band of America and the whole backing of Refco, Bear Stearns and JP Morgan, Lehman Brothers, Washington Mutual, Dynegy, and any others. Corporate executives from all of these and the others not listed should be personally financially accountable. Additionally, executives should be paid what they are worth, and no one is worth (work-wise) more than a few hundred thousand dollars.
Prison/Justice Reform - The US represents only 5% of the world's population, yet 25-30% of the incarcerated population. We are the largest incarcerated population on the planet, and have the highest recidivism rates of any nation. DoJ and DoP should be asking why that is, yet it continues. The highest rates of HIV and Hepatitis infections per capita are in US prisons and jails today, and there are literally thousands of ongoing civil suits in progress initiated by inmates and their families who seek treatment they are guaranteed by the Constitution. Roughly 1% of the US population is incarcerated today, and 98% of those will be released back into society. Whose problem do they become when that happens? Learn a lesson from Mary Shelly: If you build a monster, it will kill you.
Social Security/Medicare - The elder population of the US worked, sacrificed, and many fought and some died, to ensure the standard of living we have in the US. Yet no other group suffers like the US population over 60.

The degree of civilization in a society can be judged by entering its prisons.

Fyodor DostoevskyEnter a US prison and guess what you will find, just about the same conditions faced by most of the homeless in the US. Little to no healthcare, poor quality and low quantity food (a starvation diet--while in prison staff dining halls, guards and administrators eat gormet meals prepared by inmates), filthy living condition and substandard or no access to cleaning supplies, apathy and abuse at the hands of staff, lack of access to education or mental health treatment.

Poor Education Funding - The complaints of politicians regarding the quality of education are loud and many, yet these same people continue to chip away at funding of American schools. Everyone seems to be blind to the apparent contradiction here. Until more wake up to the problem, it will continue and the competitive edge will continue to wither and fade.
Mounting Debt for Higher Education and No Attempt to Help Alleviate It - self explanatory. Those who need more detail, ask a college grad who has not been able to find work 6 months, a year, three years after graduation.

There are more, but going further would be of no real value. Where does one begin? Start with cleaning the House and Senate of ever state and in Washington DC. Make them individually accountable for every word and action, as well as inaction. We are paying them to serve, they should be present every minute the legislative floor is open, and when back among their constituents, they should be on the street finding out what their people want of them. If that is too much work, they need to quit and make room for those who will do the job. Most importantly, they are entitled to their salary and nothing more (aside from benefits while in office). Once they leave office, it should all end, and should not extend to anyone but themselves (Familiar with the US policy of not collecting student loans from the children of legislators--ever? How about lifetime healthcare? If the people don't have access, neither should politicians.).

When done with the various Congresses, go after Justice. Judges should be held accountable for bad decisions, and prosecutors should made accountable for what they do. Those wrongfully sentenced should have full access to review of all actions and any impropriety found should make those involved 500% answerable for it (financially, and if unable to pay by incarceration). While working on Justice, include Law Enforcement. Any LEO convicted of a crime should automatically be sentenced to twice the time of an ordinary citizen--they should be help to a higher standard.

Okay, okay, off the soapbox I climb.

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