&gt; Inflation ends up being a wealth transfer from the working class to the rich.<p>Absolutely, and while my use of the word &quot;dodge&quot; might have been sloppy writing, your analysis of it is spot on.<p>But also, it is almost universally agreed that inflation in the 3-4% range is healthy for an economy, the eventual effect of governments printing money to pay current obligations and&#x2F;or securities to &quot;prop-up&quot; Wall Street is a much larger rate, like 20%-30% <i>per year</i><p>Just read the histories of South American government defaults or look at Greece now for a primer on the eventual endgame for out of control debt.