If "other countries" take money out of the US economy, where are they going to invest it? I hear that the Sri Lankan stock market is undervalued or may be that is just valued. Get some historical perspective. The same things were being said when RMN took us out of Bretton Woods and made the dollar non-convertible. I was in Portugal when it happened and dollar transactions were suspended-IN PORTUGAL WHICH WAS AN ALLY. It should be noted that AmEx would not redeem more than $100USD in their own travellers' checks.