Cash Isn’t Trash, But It’s a Melting Ice Cube

Since its disconnect from gold in 1971, the U.S. dollar’s purchasing power has gone nearly straight down.

That’s created an uphill environment for savers. By the time you can save a buck — after your taxes and expenses — the dilution of the dollar continues to work against those savings.

That’s true of the simplest form of savings of all: Cash in a bank account.

Turn Your Images On

Even with relatively higher yields on cash today, money in the bank continues to lose value over time. (Source: X/Twitter)

Century-to-date, keeping cash in the bank has been a losing proposition.

The trend was the worst in the 2010s. Although inflation was moderate during that decade, and the Fed was arguably fighting deflation following the Great Financial Crisis, banks largely paid no interest to depositors.

That’s improved since the Fed aggressively raised interest rates in 2022-2023. Investors are almost getting a positive return after inflation.

But with rates coming down, potentially aggressively under a new Fed Chair next year, that trend will worsen.

Add it up, and it’s another reason why gold is a superior form of savings. Cash is more like an ice cube on a summer day – over time, its value will melt away.

~ Andrew

P.S. Remember, the Fed is expected to cut rates in September, with or without a new Fed Chairman.

Such a move risks kicking off a “most terrifying bull market” in stocks, which sends those valuations into the stratosphere before they come crashing down to earth. And it could help gold push higher.

But either way, it’s likely to push the dollar lower — and further punish savers.

Meanwhile, Grey Swan Live! returns tomorrow. We’ll be joined by Matt Clark, Chief Research Analyst at Money & Markets, one of our corporate affiliates.

Matt’s role is similar to mine as Portfolio Director — finding new investment opportunities and sifting through ever-shifting markets.

Matt is the only person I know who can find data and precise numbers faster than I can. Maybe that comes from his days as an investigative journalist.

But with markets hitting an air pocket this week and all eyes on Jackson Hole, this will be a timely and critical chat — exclusively for our paid-up Fraternity members.

If you have any questions for us about the market, send them our way now to: Addison@GreySwanFraternity.com.

Since its disconnect from gold in 1971, the U.S. dollar’s purchasing power has gone nearly straight down.

That’s created an uphill environment for savers. By the time you can save a buck — after your taxes and expenses — the dilution of the dollar continues to work against those savings.

That’s true of the simplest form of savings of all: Cash in a bank account.

Turn Your Images On

Even with relatively higher yields on cash today, money in the bank continues to lose value over time. (Source: X/Twitter)

Century-to-date, keeping cash in the bank has been a losing proposition.

That’s improved since the Fed aggressively raised interest rates in 2022-2023. Investors are almost getting a positive return after inflation.

But with rates coming down, potentially aggressively under a new Fed Chair next year, that trend will worsen.

Add it up, and it’s another reason why gold is a superior form of savings. Cash is more like an ice cube on a summer day – over time, its value will melt away.

~ Andrew

P.S. Remember, the Fed is expected to cut rates in September, with or without a new Fed Chairman.

But either way, it’s likely to push the dollar lower — and further punish savers.

Meanwhile, Grey Swan Live! returns tomorrow. We’ll be joined by Matt Clark, Chief Research Analyst at Money & Markets, one of our corporate affiliates.

Matt’s role is similar to mine as Portfolio Director — finding new investment opportunities and sifting through ever-shifting markets.

Matt is the only person I know who can find data and precise numbers faster than I can. Maybe that comes from his days as an investigative journalist.

But with markets hitting an air pocket this week and all eyes on Jackson Hole, this will be a timely and critical chat — exclusively for our paid-up Fraternity members.

If you have any questions for us about the market, send them our way now to: Addison@GreySwanFraternity.com.

Our forecast will feel obvious in hindsight and controversial in advance — the hallmark of a Grey Swan.

Most analysts we speak to are thinking in terms of the history of Western conflict.

They expect full-frontal military engagement.

Beijing, from our modest perch, prefers resolution because resolution compounds its power. Why sacrifice the workshop of the world, when cajoling and bribery will do?

Taiwan will not fall.

It will merge.

Wars, technology races, and political upheavals — all of them rest on fiscal capacity.

In 2026, that capacity will tighten across the developed world simultaneously. Democracies will discover that generosity financed by debt carries conditions, whether voters approve of them or not.

Bond markets will not shout so much as clear their throats. Repeatedly.

Taken together, the seven Grey Swans of 2025 behaved less like isolated events and more like interlocking stories readers already recognize.

The year moved in phases. A sharp April selloff cleared leverage quickly. Policy shifted toward tax relief, lighter regulation, and renewed tolerance for liquidity. Innovations began to slowly dominate the marketplace conversation – from Dollar 2.0 digital assets to AI-powered applications in all manner of commercial enterprises, ranging from airline and hotel bookings to driverless taxis and robots.

Back in April, when we published what we called the Trump Great Reset Strategy, we described the grand realignment we believed President Trump and his acolytes were embarking on in three phases.

At the time, it read like a conceptual map. As the months passed, it began to feel like a set of operating instructions written in advance of turbulence.

As you can expect, any grandiose plan would get all kinds of blowback… but this year exhibited all manner of Trump Derangement Syndrome on top of the difficulty of steering a sclerotic empire clear of the rocky shores.

The “phases” were never about optimism or pessimism. They were about sequencing — how stress surfaces, how systems adapt, and what must hold before confidence can regenerate. And in the end, what do we do with our money?!