"Monero/gold mining is open to anyone, requires PoW, and is predictable
Fiat inflation is closed to a select few, requires no work, and unpredictable"

That is True! But it only means that inflation in Monero is not that severe as in fiat. The same way that inflation in Gold is not that severe as in fiat.
But it is still inflation and still devaulues worth. The big difference with Bitcon is that inlation in Bitcoin is reducing untill it will reach 0 (already less and Gold and anything else). On Monero and in Gold it will go on forever.