>>Hopefully, you accept that if investment gain is higher than inflation then it is a gain.
>>Also, my point was slightly different. If one tries to make a gain and, actually, makes some then his 'inflation-adjustable loss' (in case nominal gain still lower than nominal inflation rate) is still much better than for someone who did nothing.
>
>"is still much better than for someone who did nothing" works only if you realize a gain. But then your 14% gain is first taxed, probably syphoning off the 4.6% gain you wrote about. Of course just keeping the buying power is better than loosing a percentage of it...

Every tax system I heard of was intentionally unaware of inflation - that is, it makes you pay tax on inflated income with inflated money, so it's fair in that respect. But, in the case of gains like this, if the tax on the 14% is, say, 25%, that's 3.5%... and you're left with just 1.1%. But then imagine you actually had to pay your broker per transaction, plus some. So, depending on the numbers (I have invented them all, haven't I?), you may lose more or less, or even gain some.

Orchestrated inflation is legalized robbery.