That's precisely it. Inflation distributes wealth from those who have cash-backed savings, earn fixed wages, or have property leased under fixed rents, to the p

That's precisely it. Inflation distributes wealth from those who have cash-backed savings, earn fixed wages, or have property leased under fixed rents, to the privileged who gain earliest access to the newly produced money. When the stock of money is increased, it gets to be spent at face value that the money has at that time by those who are first to receive it. As the new money works its way through the economy, prices rise in response to the increased availability of this 'easy money'. The end result is that the people who are last to receive the new money get to spend it after the price of everything has already increased. If they already had savings prior to the increase in the supply, their savings now buy less than they would have prior to the supply increase. Since in most cases, people laboured to obtain this money, their time of labour is effectively being pilfered by those who have the ability to produce new money. It is known as the Cantillon Effect, after Richard Cantillon described it in his Essay on economic theory[1]. Although it was known long prior to Cantillon's explanation, his is the earliest work which explains the process by which this happens. Where Cantillon says "Mr. Locke lays it down as a fundamental maxim that the quantity of goods in proportion to the quantity of money is a regulator of market prices," I believe he is referring to 'Further considerations concerning raising the value of money,' a letter by John Locke[2]. [1]:https://mises.org/library/essay-economic-theory-0 https://mises.org/library/essay-economic-theory-0 [Part 2, Chapter 6]. [2]:https://avalon.law.yale.edu/17th_century/locke01.asp https://avalon.law.yale.edu/17th_century/locke01.asp