Americans correctly figure that the reserve currency status of the dollar will protect them for a while longer. One thing we have that other countries don’t is a worldwide infrastructure to prop up the dollar. For example, the IMF: we own it.
Minus that 16.1Trillion in secret loans the Fed Reserve handed out to "too big to fail" banks here and abroad. The 15Trillion we "hear" about is just scratching the surface.
Now lets toss in un-funded liabilities to the mix; we are hundreds of trillions in debt. There is not enough precious metals on the planet right now to equate to or "back" our debt. It's just a matter of time now.