By Tim Bovee, April 18, 2025

I first learned about the impermanence of value on August 15, 1971, at the age of 25. I had just returned from Phu Cat Air Base in Vietnam, the final posting of my service in the Air Force during the war, and was staying with my parents in their Norman, Oklahoma home until I could get my feet on the ground.

It was not a great time to be job hunting. The last recession had ended the prior November, and I was in college again, finishing up my Bachelor’s Degree studies that had been interrupted by a draft notice from President Lyndon Johnson. Also, Mom and Dad seemed happy to have me as a house guest for a while. So I was hopeful, certain that I could wrap up my schooling and start building a career.

I was shocked to run across my Dad, sitting at his desk, sadly looking at a dollar bill. Dad was a certified public accountant and often discussed ins and outs of money. I understood some of it, and rest flew past me, as it often does when you’re 20-something.

“It’s worthless,” he said, shaking his head sadly. “It’s not worth the paper it’s printed on.” For all of his life since his war, World War II, and for all of mine since birth, a paper dollar was something that could be exchanged for gold at the rate of $35 per ounce.

But on that day, Dad sadly explained, President Nixon had changed the rules. A dollar no longer gained its value from gold, but from the full faith and credit of the United States government. He said that “full faith and credit” phrase with a hint of sarcasm in his voice.

A large part of that “full faith and credit” had been in place since 1913: The United States Federal Reserve. With the end of the gold standard, it was the Fed that played a big role in determining the value of dollar, by setting the Federal Funds rate of interest, the percentage banks could charge one another for overnight loans.

The Fed was an independent body, beyond the reach of any politician. And gradually, through periods of inflation and disinflation, we came to trust the “full faith and credit” dollar as being as good as our trust in the Federal Reserve.

Now, decades later, I see history repeating itself—only louder and riskier.

On April 17, 2025, President Trump posted a statement on Truth Social bashing the Fed chair, Jerome Powell, for his caution against the Federal Open Market Committee lowering U.S interest rates, contrary to the European Central Bank’s lowering its rates for the seventh time.

“‘Too Late’ Jerome Powell of the Fed, who is always TOO LATE AND WRONG, yesterday issued a report which was another, and typical, complete ‘mess!’ Oil prices are down, groceries (even eggs!) are down, and the USA is getting RICH ON TARIFFS. Too Late should have lowered Interest Rates, like the ECB, long ago, but he should certainly lower them now.”

And then came his Nixon moment, when he wrote, “Powell’s termination cannot come fast enough!”

With those words, Trump planted his flag on the Fed. Powell’s term expires in May, 2026. If he is forced out earlier, the full faith and credit buttressing the dollar will no longer reside with the Federal Reserve but with the Trump White House.

I trade a lot. Stocks and options. I’ve done so for decades. and one lesson I’ve learned is that I can’t change what happens. My only choice is to adapt, trade smarter, and hope to live to trade another day. And with Trump’s words, like my father before me, I quickly swung into adaptation mode.

The question: How do I best protect that which is mine if there is no longer an independent agency keeping the value of the dollar on a steady course. The enemy of value is inflation, and the dollars I have in my wallet or in the bank or on my credit card, in my future salary or my future Social Security payments, are vulnerable to inflation.

The money needs to go elsewhere.

To protect what I’ve built, I turned to tools my father never had: AI, data modeling, and decades of trading experience.

Dad in 1971 relied on his years of study and practice to protect his funds. In 2025, I have access to brilliant devices that seemingly have access to all the knowledge in the world, available and personalized for my needs at a moment’s notice.

Here’s a table of assets and how they are likely to fare in the new “faithless and creditless” economy, from OpenAI’s ChatGPT-4o:

Asset Class / Vehicle	Pros	Cons	Confidence in Safety
Short-Term U.S. Treasuries	Still backed by U.S. government; low risk; liquid	Vulnerable to inflation if Fed mismanages rates	⭐⭐⭐⭐ (High, short-term)
Series I Savings Bonds	Adjusts for inflation; U.S.-backed	Annual purchase limit; interest penalty if cashed early	⭐⭐⭐⭐ (High)
Gold (GLD ETF or physical)	Hedge vs. currency debasement; centuries of value	Volatile short-term; no income; risk of regulation	⭐⭐⭐⭐ (High for core holding)
Commodities (e.g., DBC ETF)	Real assets; often rise with inflation	Cyclical; may not track CPI closely; higher volatility	⭐⭐⭐ (Medium-High)
Foreign Currency / Intl Bonds	Reduces dollar dependence	Currency/geopolitical risk; less transparent	⭐⭐⭐ (Medium)
Hard Assets (land, real estate)	Tangible; income-producing; inflation hedge	Illiquid; management burden; property rights risk	⭐⭐⭐⭐ (High if secure)
TIPS (Inflation-Protected Bonds)	Inflation-adjusted principal	May lag real inflation; complex taxes	⭐⭐⭐ (Medium-High)
Dividend-Aristocrat Stocks	Reliable cash flow; pricing power; defensive	Still equity risk; exposed if dollar weakens	⭐⭐ (Medium)
Bitcoin / Crypto	Decentralized; immune to central banks	Highly volatile; regulatory threats; uncertain in crises	⭐⭐ (Low-Medium)
Foreign Bank Accounts	Diversification from U.S. banking system	Complex reporting; possible access issues	⭐⭐ (Medium)
Cash (USD)	Liquid; good for emergencies	Loses value under inflation; banking system risk	⭐⭐ (Low-Medium)

My plan, initially, is to move my 90-day Treasury bills to gold, in the form of the exchange-traded fund GLD, trading in and out to avoid risk. Entering and exiting trades is free these days — no fees — so the money is fully available. I’ll invest as usual, using options as having a greater profit. I own a series I U.S. Savings Bond that I’ll continue to hold. And I’ll continue to branch out into other holdings of Medium to High safety as circumstances warrant.

I also have a whole-life insurance policy. I’ve been so impressed by its performance that I asked the AI to rank it separately. Here’s what ChatGPT-4o wrote:

Risk	Level	Why
Solvency Risk	Very Low	The issuing company is investment-grade and well-diversified. Regulators monitor solvency ratios.
Inflation Eroding Value	Moderate	The real value of both the cash surrender value and death benefit could shrink.
Currency Devaluation (USD)	Moderate	If USD weakens sharply, your policy retains nominal value but loses purchasing power.
Policy Rule Changes	Very Low	U.S. insurance law changes slowly; no expected legal shifts to affect your contract.

And that’s my plan. Everyone’s holdings are different. Preferences differ. Risk tolerances vary. But one thing is always true: no one likes to lose money.. In my view, if we end up in a society where money has no basis, not even an imaginary one like “full faith and credit” of the government, then it won’t be worth the data bits of the electronic form in which most money exists today. At best, it will be the basis for a future guarantee for currency someday. At worst, it will be a sad memory of what was a great store of value in its time.