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A phrase coined by J. M. Keynes to denote the misleading thinking among people that they are getting richer as a result of inflation when in reality the value of money decreases.
The phrase is used by some economists to argue that a small amount of inflation may not be a bad thing and could even be beneficial as it may help to ‘grease the wheels’ of the economy—a feeling of getting richer (let it be illusory itself!).