Whether I have $1000 in my pocket and $1000 in debt toward a "hard asset" or I own the hard asset outright and have no cash is irrelevent. In fact, the inflation argument works against paying off a mortgage early, since future year dollars are worth less than current year dollars.
I assume you missed the point in my post where I said that doesn't mean it is right for everyone. I was simply trying to say that at times, it makes sense to carry some debt as part of an overall strategy. If not, no one would invest for retirement, college, or anything else until they had their mortgage paid off.
If you have cash your cash is buying less every day that inflation increases. Your hard assets much more likely retain their value.
Rarely does pay from a job keep up with inflation. So yes, on the up side you are paying back that debt with dollars that are worth less but on the down side you likely don’t have more dollars to make up for the loss in value of those dollars. In addition if you have a variable rate mortgage you really take it in the shorts during periods of high inflation.
Now I do agree it makes sense to carry some debt from time to time for a whole host of reasons. My only point is debt costs.
It’s kind of funny, banks make money when you borrow and banks make money when you invest - and - all of it is your money... That isn’t to say that what they offer isn’t worth the cost, but it does cost.