Also, keep in mind that the term "inflation" is ambiguous.
Yes, good point. What is meant is the common usage, or the value of dollar decreasing in relation to everything else.
(Technically the bitcoin economy is inflating, with new bitcoins being introduced, but the value is going up - so it's somewhat confusing to talk about inflation.)
All the factors you mention has a impact on inflation... you can think of it as a hidden and huge tax. There are a ton of other factors as well... just depends on how deep you want to get...
This is a really good point. The devaluation of dollar caused by printing new money can be seen as a form of tax, which is interesting since as far as taxes go, it's probably the fairest and most efficient kind of taxation there is: everyone loses exactly the same percentage, and the amount of bureaucracy and effort used to collect the tax is probably a lot lower than with traditional taxation.
Now I wonder where this tax goes - who gains? The central banks? Those who they lend the money to? Governments? Where is this newly collected "tax" used, and are politicians / public sector in control of them in similar way than other taxes?
