Jedi Word Trick

"To avoid being blamed for the nefarious consequences of inflation, the government and its henchman resort to a semantic trick. They try to change the meaning of the terms. They call 'inflation' the inevitable consequence of inflation, namely, the rise in prices."
--Ludwig von Mises

Frank Shostak observes, as we have here many times, that inflation is not a general increase in prices. He goes a step further, however, by suggesting that inflation is not even about an increase in the money supply that exceeds an increase in the supply of goods.

Instead, inflation constitutes an increase in paper money supply, period. This is because paper money is not wealth. However, it constitutes a claim on wealth. Thus, people who get hold of newly created paper money first can take possession of wealth that they had no part in creating.

Inflation is not about a general increase in prices. Inflation is the creation of money out of thin air. It is an act of embezzlement.

Paper money does not create wealth. It facilitates wealth transfer. We are currently engaged in the biggest act of wealth transfer in the history of the world.