A good implementation I've seen of something like this is a responsive version of data tables. Essentially, the data in the table is prioritized, and shown or hidden based on the available real-estate, along with the ability to override the defaults.
I think this is a much better use-case for this kind of idea. I especially like that even if I shrink down my browser, I can still re-show the content that got hidden using the dropdown at top-right.
Maybe people's concerns about not seeing the full content could be alleviated by a similar solution for re-showing the text that got hidden in the OP's example?
Demo available here: http://filamentgroup.com/examples/rwd-table-patterns/