>investing should be reserved for fronting cash to create some value (like buying stock to infuse capital into a corporation).

Low interest rates have killed this cause. If corporations can get cash from the banks at near zero rates, the only remaining use case for investments is heavy speculation. In a sense, the post-2008 monetary policy was about making things look good on paper, while hollowing out the economy with bullshit jobs, bullshit stocks and bullshit business models.

As bad as the spiraling inflation could be, I hope the shock coming from it will bring the economy back to the common sense.