I advise you to put 10-20% of your assets in gold (NYSE:GLD), which is easily bought through any brokerage account.  I bought some shares 2 and a half years ago.  My only regret is not buying more of it back then.  I placed an order for Gold over the weekend because whether or not the $700 billion bailout passed, Gold would have went up eventually.  If it passed, the Fed would have created money out of thin air, which meant indirect taxation through inflation (i.e. higher Gold prices).

Many signs indicate that we’re entering a long recession, if not a depression, and there’s absolutely no reason why you or your parents should lose money during this period if you pay attention and are careful.  Even CDs at 4% does not seem safe because current inflation is at 5-7%, so you’re effectively losing money.  I plan to SHORT the Russell 2000 index soon when the market goes up momentarily (I’ve shorted S&P 500 last year).  There’s high inflation because this country is at war, and going into huge debt to finance it (and this is precisely why OIL and food prices went up recently - has little to do with China and India).  When a government has debt, it is to its advantage to have inflation so that the value of its interest payments on the debt are not as much as their face value when they’re due.  Wouldn’t you want to pay less in interest payments by having the value of the dollar go down?  Our tax money goes entirely to only the INTEREST payment of government debt.  It’s like a person who pays credit card interest payments on his/her entire monthly salary, living perpetually in debt.  This way s/he can spend and spend, live prosperously until sh*t hits the fan.

Other ways I can think of to protect ourselves against inflation:
1) Buy corn, rice, and other food staples in the stock market
2) Get a 0% APR credit card - I saved “junk mail” offers that have 0% until 2010.  If you don’t have to pay until then, in a period of higher than normal inflation, that means the value of your payment in 2010 is much lower.  And don’t ever buy stocks of credit card companies that have these offers.  For them, this is a money-losing move out of desperation.
3) If you have money, time and good credit, buy a single family house or duplex/quadplex etc (depending on what you can afford) in cities in Texas, Mississipi, and Louisiana.  With 20% down, the rent payments will pay for the mortgage.  With inflation, rent will also naturally go up, so you’re protected.  You just need to hire a property manager, who charges 7-10% of monthly rent. Make sure the areas have a high percentage of younger population (yuppies & immigrants), good job growth, and low vacancy rate.

The Fed is not part of government but owned by the banks.  We didn’t have income taxes until the Federal Reserve was established in 1913.