Very broadly speaking, inflation is a spiral of wages and prices that devalues money itself while leaving the relative value of labor and goods equivalent. In this sort of inflation, the value of saving and the cost of debt are reduced. Many economists view this as encouraging investment and as an overall public good provided the rate is slow enough to inflate everything more or less evenly.<p>Minimum wage is by definition not a market rate, therefore when wages and prices inflate, minimum wage and other fixed benefits are left behind. This is not so much inflation hurting the poor but rather the government choosing to help them less, in a nicely passive &quot;don&#x27;t blame me&quot; sort of way.