Unwinding them simply has to be done, and best done now. That means *gasp* deleveraging.
I'm thinking it all depends on what folks are tied to; where they put their nest eggs (or where their fund managers put their nest eggs).
Folks who have collective retirement accounts (unions, etc.) could get screwed, massively. What little we've got left is all in 401Ks and whole life policies. Great when times were good (saw some excellent returns on the NW Mutual acccount), but years of medical bills depleted our savings account.
I know too many people who saw their retirement strategy blow up in their face. So far, ours hasn't...