I suppose that if the dollar really falls, then it may actually be a good thing for the average US population. We will have to start actually produce some things, and there will be more real jobs for the middle-class. For my occupation, software development, it may be good, too: in recent years, the management of the most companies entertains the idea that all software developers will sit in China, but all managers and capitalists will live in the USA - total utopia, IMHO, if you move the production jobs to China, then eventually all management jobs will move there, and Chinese capitalists will take over the companies, too.
The Chinese have already taken over many markets themselves, far quicker than even I envisioned. As mentioned in another thread that apparently got the panties of a certain whiny kitty in a bunch...I was pointing out that some of the largest companies and banks in the world are now fully owned and operated by the Chinese.
One of the problems with the idea that we will start to produce things here if our dollar collaspes is that we've already lost our skill set and our manufacturing base, so it would next to impossible to rebuild that...especially if were in an economic depression due to a collasped dollar.
Think about other countries that have gone through similiar fates to ours. Are they suddenly manufacturing economies? No, they are just depressed economies.
Also, a collasped dollar will likely be replaced by a new currency on the global market, worth much more than the dollar, so anyone who holds dollars will be extremely poor compared to those who hold the new currency, which means most Americans will be extremely poor compared to the rest of the global market.
There's a lot of different theories about what could happen. Other currencies besides the dollar are also in just as big of trouble. So essentially everyone owning a paper fiat currency could eventually be poor. Which could mean we could all be in the same boat...which might collectively soften the entire blow.
But likely would also lead to a single world currency, banking system and probably single world government, that will most likely be tryanical on some level.