For some reason when I hear people saying this I just picture them as thinking of the poor as having a mortgage on their second summer home or something like that.

I think inflation can be a force that equalizes between high and low wealth groups, but that's only if it includes wage inflation.

Inflating wages makes wages relatively more important than existing assets.

Of course the poor are getting payday loans at interest rates of up to 664%[1], or credit card debt at 20%, both of which make inflation irrelevant, while the super-rich are taking out loans backed by their stock and real estate[2] at interest rates below inflation.

[1] https://www.cnbc.com/2021/02/16/map-shows-typical-payday-loa...

[2] https://www.forbes.com/sites/johnhyatt/2021/11/11/how-americ...

That can also be true if you have sufficient loans. It's really a balance between how long your comp takes to catch up with inflation and loans vs cash. That said, I think better off people generally might have leveraged their assets even more, getting the double whammy of the mortgage becoming cheaper while the underlying asset goes up in value. Credit card debt also becomes less meaningful though... It all depends (just like in software engineering).

Do those loans have interest on them? Many major religions banned usury because it’s primarily a way for the haves to keep from the have nots.

The alternative where the rich are sitting on piles of money because they can’t profit off loaning would quickly make apparent how they’re leaching off the labor of the people.

That assumes that their salaries keep track with inflation and that the interest on their loans doesn't.

Less helpful for holders of credit card debt as their costs increase alongside their APR…