When I was a kid growing up in the early 80s, the United States was the undisputed dominant superpower in the world.

The US dollar was awe-inspiring; on a trade-weighted basis, the dollar index was at an all-time high, and had never been as strong ever before… or since.

And the dollar's strength was backed by something real. The US economy was strong. Debt was low. Interest rates were actually greater than zero.

I remember watching Ronald Regan on TV when he told Mikhail Gorbachev, and the entire world to 'tear down this wall' from West Berlin.

And within a few years it happened. The Soviet Union collapsed, leaving the United States as the victor in the Cold War.

US geopolitical, economic, financial, and military power was completely unchallenged. And it would remain that way for years.

Now it's a completely different story. The entire system is changing.