As concerns about rising inflation are compounded by painful stock and bond market downturns, expect anxiety about savings, investments, and a stable financial future to increase.

“He’s got $13 million in.” That’s what employees of then-millionaire Elon Musk would tell recruits of X.com, the virtual bank he founded in 1999 that eventually became PayPal. Earlier that year, the sale of Mr. Musk’s first startup, Zip2, netted him roughly $21 million, much of which he invested in an effort to disrupt banking, investing and payment systems.

It seemed that turmoil was short-lived in the financial markets as stocks shot up impressively last week. Unfortunately, so did U.S. inflation data.

In 1935, Ernest Hemingway authored "Notes on the Next War," an article gleaned from his life's experiences. The piece expresses his contempt for the horrors of war and contains unusually prescient observations which are even appropriate to today.

It’s hard to fathom now given the debased nature of the monetary discussion today, but when Ronald Reagan ran for president in 1980, a standard line in his speeches was that “No nation in history has survived fiat money, money that did not have precious metal backing.” Translated for those who need it, Reagan was calling for a dollar defined in terms of the most stable commodity the world has ever known: gold.