(10 of 10)
When reform comes, perhaps within two years, one inevitable consequence will be less dependence on the dollar and more reliance on other forms of finance—a development the U.S. would welcome. The dollar will no longer be almighty in the sense that it is called upon to do the whole world's work. But neither Fowler nor anyone else in the Administration intends to concede an inch (or a penny) when it comes to the dollar's basic value and its power to move freely around the globe. The dollar will remain the world's most potent money, as befits the currency of the world's most powerful country. If anyone wants to call that being almighty, then that is all right with Joe Fowler.
*When he was a teen-ager in Roanoke, Va., Fowler got the nickname from a Greek immigrant restaurant owner who had trouble with any Anglo-Saxon name except that one. The handle stuck.