I am relatively new to reading Austrian economics, but it seems even mainstream types are hinting that the day of reckoning is imminent. What are the best/worst/most likely case scenarios for the collapse of the dollar? Is there really any way for oneself to (relatively) immunize one's life? I assume those not in urban areas already more isolated and self-reliant will be better positioned.
Economist Daniel J. Mitchell noted that the Congressional Budget Office has detailed a dollar collapse: [P]ersistent deficits and continually mounting debt would have several negative economic consequences for the United States. Some of those consequences would arise gradually: A growing portion of people’s savings would go to purchase government debt rather than toward investments in productive capital goods such as factories and computers; that “crowding out” of investment would lead to lower output and incomes than would otherwise occur.
…[A] growing level of federal debt would also increase the probability of a sudden fiscal crisis, during which investors would lose confidence in the government’s ability to manage its budget, and the government would thereby lose its ability to borrow at affordable rates. …If the United States encountered a fiscal crisis, the abrupt rise in interest rates would reflect investors’ fears that the government would renege on the terms of its existing debt or that it would increase the supply of money to finance its activities or pay creditors and thereby boost inflation.
Austrian economist Peter Schiff explained how China is supporting the U.S. dollar.
I recommend reading Peter Schiff’s columns for an Austrian perspective on current economic events.
Austrian economist Robert P. ‘Bob’ Murphy recently analyzed the U.S. debt limit.
Garth North’s most recent column was about when to move.