i must admit, i do worry about this and did extremely so back in 2008 but it never happened. i suppose it could happen now but if i'm correct and the USD skyrockets, the USD reserve system may go on for another cycle and i'll be able to get my wealth out at that time.
in fact, at the very bottom (years out) it just may be the time to buy some gold/silver again; we'll just have to see how the Bitcoin/pm game plays out.
I suspect that the USD will have extraordinary pull on the worlds financial systems and be legitimately classifiable as 'the worlds reserve currency' as long we (the US) manage the availability of the energy resources of the Middle East. That does not preclude volatility and and/or 'economic emergencies' if they serve the purposes of the relatively few entities who manage things.
Furthermore, our grasp on the management of these resources of the Middle East is probably a bit more tenuous than some people may think. For instance, if we had to resort to boots on the ground in Saudi Arabia (and the likely simultaneous conflagration of issues in surrounding areas), I personally question our ability to strap on that many boots. And I have less faith than most in the robustness of our very complex weapons systems when put to the test against our more capable adversaries. (Excepting our thermonuclear offensive capability that is, but man do I not want to go there!)
The USD will almost definitely shoot up this month, but it'll come crashing down shortly after. Sure things could go on for another cycle, just not the same. What restrictions might be put in place? Could you move your assets out if there's a bank holiday or $1,000 daily limit on transfers?
I've been watching events unfold for a decade and have studied a lot of history. Things are hitting so fast & furious right now that Rahm Emanuel will soon have a field day. Assets inside the financial system in any way, shape, or form are as good as gone in that situation.
Even if there is another cycle or two, this is not the kind of gamble to be played lightly. Every time the edge is pushed to an extreme, the need to be ready for a final break becomes more important.
I've been paranoid about a sudden collapse for about a decade. In fact, trying to understand the push into Iraq really triggered my extreme interest in (and paranoia about) the various monetary regimes around us these days. My answer was PM's and I never really expected to _make_ any money on them (and am not completely sure that I have) but by happenstance I would have been unlikely to have done much better with any of the alternates.
I've always suspected that if/when a collapse comes, it will be shockingly rapid (as in hours.) This in part because the most well connected will do better in such a scenario, and if a collapse is mathematical inevitability (which I believe to be the case) then one might as well make the most of it. I suspect that the likes of JP Morgan have a current script which the update continuously dealing with how to manage a collapse.
Back to my point some pages ago about MF Global 'case law', although I am not a lawyer I believe it to be true that depending on the current state of the MF Global case, some assets which moved around in the first few microseconds of a collapse may either stay put during the subsequent legal wranglings, or need to be returned pending said. (This assumes that there even exists a legal system after a significant collapse which is not, in my mind, a given.)
I use JP Morgan as an example here because as best I can ascertain, they ended up with the money from the MF Global customer accounts and have yet to part with a dime of it. I'm shocked that the victims are still only at 80%...I expected they would have been made %100 whole within a few day on the back of my tax dollars and in the 'national security interest' of 'maintaining market confidence' or some such. That that did _not_ happen got me to generating hypotheses on why.