Since leaving the gold standard in 1971, the default government response to any financial crisis has been to expand the money supply. This creates a persistent, long-term inflationary pressure that investors must factor into their strategies, particularly for fixed-income assets.

A core function of money is to be the 'final extinguisher of debt.' However, fiat currency is created as debt, meaning every dollar is both an asset and a liability. This inherent contradiction makes the entire financial system fundamentally fragile.

In 1965, the U.S. replaced all silver coins with cheap copper-nickel 'clad' coins, severing the link between a coin's face value and its material worth. This dramatic debasement of currency happened overnight, yet the public accepted the new 'valueless' coins without protest, enabling massive government profits.

The term "fiat money" is a misleading veil. A currency's true value comes from the quality of assets on commercial bank balance sheets and the robust regulatory framework (like the FDIC) that prevents systemic failures, not from a simple government declaration.

When governments print money to cover deficits, the value of the dollar decreases. This inflates the price of all assets, from stocks to real estate. Extreme wealth figures are a direct result of measuring valuable assets with a weaker currency, not just a product of individual value creation or greed.

While the 2008 crisis centered on commercial banks and mortgages, today's problem is rooted in the central banks themselves. The Fed's policies actively devalued US treasuries—the bedrock of the system—making this a more fundamental central banking and currency crisis, not just a banking one.

While many point to ending the gold standard in 1971, the true catalyst for modern economic problems was the 1913 creation of the central bank. This act laid the foundation for the systemic debt creation and currency debasement that fuel today's inflation and inequality.

Unlike the 2008 crisis, which was localized in housing and banking, the current problem is with the US dollar itself. Global central banks are now fleeing the dollar for assets like gold, signaling a systemic crisis, not a sectoral one.

The value of all forms of money, including gold, relies on collective belief. The critical danger of fiat currency isn't that it's inherently "fake," but that central banks, unbound by a physical constraint, will always abuse the power to print, inevitably devaluing the currency over time.