Is inflation a form of taxation?

Ireland has borrowed near on 200 billion euro since the 2008 credit crunch. What do we have to show for that?

I suspect that all we have to show for it is high house prices. But most of those houses already existed so really we borrowed 200 billion and got nothing except maybe a new wave of emigration for it.

Young people who are capable of earning a lot of money would rather emigrate than pay inflated rent or acquire an inflated mortgage. Less educated young people tend to struggle along paying high rent. Meanwhile, they grow older with no prospect of ever being able to afford to buy their own home. And we have the influx of migrants who ensure a social (but not a market) demand for housing.

It just all seems a bit messed up to me. What is the point of homeowners having their house values increase in nominal terms when the young people we were relying on to pay our 200 billion in debt are emigrating and who will pay the debt now?

The rising CPI and recent decline of house price inflation (indeed a slight deflation in December) suggests the inflation we saw in house prices is now leaking from our housing stock and flowing into our shopping trolleys. Are we now to expect a gradual increase in our groceries prices to the tune of 200 billion plus interest? What is the good in higher house prices when we are the ones who end up paying for it? I suppose we could catch an inflated airline ticket to Melbourne to see the grandkids and that will take our minds of it.