Much of what Schiff predicts are dependent on the rest of the world 'cutting us off' by depegging their currencies from the dollar and turning away from treasury bonds -- both of which are not happening, and to the contrary, much of the world is turning toward our treasury bonds in this crisis. Oil being down and perceived weakness in the euro are definitely helping us right now, too.
Wikipedia says "Schiff was an economic adviser to Ron Paul's 2008 presidential campaign." Sounds like he was one of multiple economic advisers, and it sounds like they aren't associated in any official capacity today.
Most "experts" have no more credibility now than the masses who can barely calculate simple interest. They are a bunch of paid-for shills. Just because you understand the math behind derivatives does not mean they should have ever been allow to exist.
The problem isn't really all that complicated to explain. However, no simple solutions have been presented yet. Instead, the US government and others are opting to push for much more of the same stuff that got us into this mess to begin with.