> Whether "printing" money was a cause of generalized inflation is a matter of debate.

It's only a debate for people who haven't looked at the history of money and inflation. Inflation is always the result of an increase in the supply of money relative to the value of goods and services in the economy. It happens when there are gold rushes, silver rushes, and running the government printing press.

Our current inflation happened soon after a massive increase in deficit spending.