I respect many of the writers who believe that we will experience hyperinflation… but I think they are jumping the gun. Hyperinflation is something that is easy to say – and it certainly achieves the sensational headlines that so many financial writers seek – but it is much more difficult to achieve. At this point none of the economic or political factors required to set off hyperinflation are present. The question should not be whether or not it is possible, but whether or not it is probable and in my opinion the probability of such happening is very low. [Let me explain why that is the case.] Words: 2695

I have been reading a lot lately about the [supposed] coming hyperinflation in America:

• Here’s Why Williams STILL Believes a Hyperinflationary Great Depression is Coming!
• A Hyperinflationary Great Depression Is Coming to America by 2014! Here’s Why
• Williams: U.S. Can Not Avoid Coming Financial Armageddon
• Williams: Expect Hyperinflation Within the Next 5 Years
• Hyperinflation to Occur in U.S. as Early as 2013! Here’s Why

[I think] it is quite a leap of fancy to say we are certain to have hyperinflation. They all base their argument on America’s:

• out of control federal deficits,
• spiraling debt,
• poor economy,
• reluctance to raise taxes and
• loss of control over the money supply.

They say that at some future tipping point the government and the Fed will have only one alternative to prevent a run on US Treasurys, and that is massive quantitative easing (QE), that is, the Fed prints money to buy federal debt…[or] that the Fed is monetizing federal debt. That tipping point, they say, is when investors lose faith in Treasurys because they fear sovereign default and they start dumping them, and then bond prices collapse. This collapse will bring about worldwide financial panic, a run on other sovereign debt, and the dollar will decline drastically. The Fed will have no choice other than to prop up the market by buying Treasurys and to do that they will have to print money (monetize the debt), probably massively, which will spiral into hyperinflation. (Some commentators also bring in arguments about trade balances, balance of payments, lack of exports, low US savings, and other mercantilist ideas to justify their case for hyperinflation.)

Hyperinflation is not a far-out speculation. Whenever countries experience hyperinflation the causes are usually the same and hew close to the above circumstances. In any fiat money economy hyperinflation is possible. Only a gold monetary standard has held back profligate regimes from printing money in hyperinflationary quantities…

Why Our Problems Could Lead to Inflation

I am not in disagreement with the hyperinflationists’ basic analysis of the Fed, the government, or the economy. All the bad things they describe are real. I won’t go into them in detail here but here are the basic problems we face:

1. We are still in a recession and we will probably stay in recession for “the foreseeable future” as the Fed likes to say.
2. Government revenues have fallen off.
3. Massive government spending has resulted in massive deficits.
4. The deficits are being funded by debt.
5. Credit is still very tight and money supply has been shrinking.
6. The CPI is low, but asset values such as real estate are still declining.
7. Unemployment is high…
8. Massive Keynesian fiscal stimulus (federal spending) has had no lasting effect.
9. Government social benefit programs (Social Security, Medicare, Obamacare, federal pensions, etc.) are underfunded and their costs will climb dramatically.
10. Federal taxes now take about 30% of our economy.
11. Federal debt is at about 90% of GDP and is rising.
12. It is likely the Fed will engage in large amounts of QE to stimulate the economy, especially if unemployment grows.

The above is not a healthy outlook for America. There are two other factors that we need to consider:

1. governments like inflation, at least at moderate levels. [Read: Creating More Inflation is Now the Official Policy of the Fed] Unbelievably, but true, people initially believe in the illusion of prosperity that rising prices from inflation brings. For most debtors the more the dollar is debased the easier it is to pay back debts issued in pre-inflation times. In fact, inflation is just another tax on your wealth; governments are paying for stuff at a hidden discount. Savers and creditors lose.
2. Americans don’t like to be taxed. While they like their benefits, they don’t want to pay for them. The sea change in America is not the dislike of taxes, but the love of the Nanny State. While people cynically say that Social Security won’t be around for them, they haven’t saved enough for retirement or medical care, and they are counting on it. This presents a dilemma for our leaders. If they raise taxes sufficient to cover their expenses, we would kick them out of office. On the other hand since our politicians can’t seem to cut spending, they will continue to borrow. The answer to their dilemma is inflation.

What is Inflation and Hyperinflation?

Inflation is when central banks print more money than people desire to hold. The result of inflation is that all prices go up. If tomorrow everyone in the economy had 2x the dollars than they have today, prices would double. No one is wealthier; they just have more pieces of green paper. That is inflation.

Inflation is not caused by a lack of goods or too much demand, or demand-pull. For example, if the price of oil goes up, that’s not inflation. In that case, if we buy the same amount of gasoline as before, it means we will have less money to spend on other goods which goods will decline in price because of lower demand…

Money is an economic good and it, too, is subject to supply and demand factors. Generally if people see all prices continually rise because of an increase in money supply, they will choose to get rid of dollars and hold assets. If prices are continually falling, people desire to hold money because it is becoming more valuable relative to assets.

When inflation is an ongoing phenomenon, prices continually rise, money buys less (is debased), and people don’t want to hold on to their devaluing dollars so they spend them. They want goods or assets or gold: i.e., the things that are rising in price. Interest rates also go up as banks seek to offset the devaluation of dollars to be repaid in the future.

Hyperinflation is just an extreme case of inflation. Normally during high inflation central banks at some point slow the presses, let their economies fall into recession, and the economy repairs itself. These boom-bust business cycles are being constantly created by central banks. [Also read: New Boom-bust Cycle Risks Hyperinflationary Depression and Much Higher Gold Price – Here’s Why]

What if the central bank doesn’t want to stop inflation? What if the politicians don’t want the economy to go into recession and expose their reckless fiscal behavior? In that case sovereigns print more and more currency to catch up with rising prices. It is like a feedback loop. The more they print, the higher prices go, so they have to print even more. Spending the currency becomes a mission. Perhaps prices double every month, or increase daily. Hyperinflation is when money printing is so great, that people lose faith in currency. People ignore their currency and barter, or gold or foreign currencies are used for transactions. Generally orderly commerce breaks down, goods become scarce, social order breaks down, and people suffer.

Why Does Hyperinflation Occur?

Aside from the mechanics of hyperinflation, why does it happen? Why do they keep printing? Aren’t the central bankers and politicians smart enough to understand what is happening? The answer to that last question is, in those countries, apparently, no.

In every modern case of hyperinflation the decision to inflate was a political one, not an economic one. In almost every case hyperinflation followed a war or a coup or some massive political change such as the end of the Soviet empire or the rise of a dictator or a populist-socialist takeover, and other political unrest.

In the 20^th Century there were quite a number of hyperinflationary events. I used the Wikipedia list of modern hyperinflations (Since WWI) and researched the political circumstances of each country. The circumstances can be put into three rough categories: post-war disruption, post-Soviet collapse, and socialist-populist regimes…

These hyperinflations all had one common denominator: during a period of instability, spending was used as a political tool and it got out of hand. I understand that the circumstances of each country were different…but each country faced political factors that created instability or a national crisis; the government spent heavily to gain popular support, and resorted to the printing presses to pay for their spending… [Also read 21 Countries Have Experienced Hyperinflation In Last 25 Years – Is the U.S. Next!]

Will Hyperinflation Happen in America?

Will hyperinflation happen here? It is possible but unlikely and improbable.

I listed above 12 serious economic problems America faces. The list is not exhaustive but it is accurate. While they are serious, they do not necessarily guarantee hyperinflation.

As an exercise in hypotheticals, I extrapolated from the above 12 issues a kind of worse-case scenario for a potential hyperinflation setup:

• Government spending continues unabated, running up higher and higher deficits.
• To reduce deficits, taxation increases to, say 45% of GDP.
• As a result of high taxation, GDP declines, reducing tax revenues.
• The government floats even more debt to make up the new revenue losses.
• Interest rates on Treasurys increase substantially because of less demand due to market-perceived sovereign risk.
• The Fed starts buying large amounts of Treasurys in order to meet revenue shortfalls and to “stabilize the market” (i.e., monetizing the debt for a different purpose than they are now doing).
• The CPI takes off as the new money hits the economy and prices rise.
• Inflation risk causes interest rates to rise further.
• The debt is not being paid down with inflated dollars.
• Other major nations become fiscally more conservative thereby reducing the US’s status as the reserve currency.
• US sovereign credit ratings are downgraded.

The above circumstances would lead to high inflation and panic in the bond markets but whether it would spiral into hyperinflation is possible, but unlikely. [After all,] we are not:

• emerging from a devastating war,
• going through massive societal and governmental restructuring…[or]
• experiencing the populist political and economic upheaval that would result from the nationalization of basic industries, state control of the economy, price and wage controls, seizure of wealth, and political intimidation and tyranny…

Let’s assume, however, that my potential hyperinflation setup does happen. For hyperinflation to occur you would then have to believe in something like the following additional political scenario:

• President Obama and the Democrats have complete control of Congress, say 75 seats in the Senate.
• They continue to appoint leftist justices to the Supreme Court and achieve a clear majority.
• They perpetuate their power through massive spending programs to reward Democratic constituencies.
• They raise the pay and pensions of the unions and government workers.
• They substantially raise the minimum wage.
• They dramatically raise payments to middle-class and lower Social Security recipients.
• They increase taxes to confiscatory levels on “big corporations” and the “rich.”
• They offer “free” health care for the “poor.”
• They nationalize (directly or through total regulation) communications, energy, transportation, drug companies, and defense production in order to “bring down costs.”

As the economy slowed down further and unemployment (U-3) reached 20%+ levels, there would be massive political unrest and people would march in the streets. The military would be called out to maintain order in large cities from rioting and looters. In order to placate the masses, more government aid would be offered, more federal WPA-type projects would be created, and people would be “put to work.”

In order to pay for all this, federal debt would explode far beyond what we are now experiencing and the new Fed chairman would accommodate the government by monetizing the debt. Inflation would exceed 20% and keep rising until it got to hyperinflation.

Let’s stop for a moment and catch our collective breaths.

Those things aren’t happening here. I’m not saying they couldn’t happen but that’s not our current path. There are economic and political reasons why I don’t think hyperinflation would occur…

1. In order for the bond market to panic, investors would have to determine that the U.S. would default on its debt. While one could argue that we don’t have the ability to pay off our debt, that is true of almost all nations.
2. The more significant question is: can the U.S. pay interest on its debt and continue to refinance its existing debt? The answer is yes. This is what buyers of US Treasurys look at when they buy our debt: the likelihood of sovereign default. While the situation in the U.S. is not favorable with out of control federal spending, we still have a gilt-edge rating on our debt. More importantly, we have the ability to raise taxes in order to cover interest on our debt. If we had a world crisis tomorrow where would investors send their money? So far it has been the U.S. (for example, the eurozone sovereign debt crisis). I’m not saying this couldn’t change, but for now, money flows here.
3. While I think Ben Bernanke is wrong on most things, as a student of Milton Friedman he does understand hyperinflation and the risks of printing money. I think most of Obama’s senior economic advisers all understand this point as well…I think it is political science fiction to think that the Fed or any politician would let hyperinflation happen here.

Let’s go further and assume that my hypothetical factors do occur and we have high inflation which is spiraling out of control toward hyperinflation. What would the government’s response be? [Also read this hypothetical account Will This Be The USA in 2012?]

1. Impose temporary price and wage controls. The last time they tried that was in 1971 with Nixon. It didn’t work then and won’t work now, but the purpose would not be so much to control prices, but rather to prepare the ground for their further actions to stop the crisis. I would give this 6 months at the most.
2. Freeze the Treasury bond market. Again, this would be a temporary measure while the world organized to support our markets and the dollar.
3. Establish a moratorium on Treasury debt repayment by extending all short-term maturities for 90 days. That would be another temporary hold. Holders of our debt would unanimously agree to this. Otherwise their value of their Treasury holdings would significantly decline.
4. Arrange for massive foreign support of the dollar and Treasurys. The last thing our trading partners want to see is America crash and burn. International trade would very quickly dry up if the financial markets were in chaos. America still has a unique status with the dollar as the international reserve currency. You would see an immediate massive coordinated support of Treasurys and the dollar by the EU, Japan, China, the UK, and others…
5. Raise the Fed Funds rate, drive up the cost of money. This is the Volcker solution which is to just stop printing money. He raised the Fed Funds rate from 11.2% in 1979 to a peak of 20% by June 1981. Inflation (and stagflation) disappeared. This is the solution to any hyperinflation. After the markets cooled down, prices stabilized, and inflation subsided, controls would be lifted and life would go on. This would also sink the economy for a while, but that is better than hyperinflation and the social and political disintegration that it brings.

[While] I respect many of the writers who believe that we will experience hyperinflation (a number of them are, like me, students of Austrian theory economics), I think most of them are jumping the gun.

At this point none of the economic or political factors required to set off hyperinflation are present. A careful analysis of theory, fact, and history leads me to conclude that inflation/stagflation is our future. It is quite a leap of fancy to say we are certain to have hyperinflation.

*http://dailycapitalist.com/2010/09/30/will-we-have-hyperinflation-in-america/

Why spend time surfing the internet looking for informative and well-written articles when we do it for you. We assess hundreds of articles every day, identify the best and then post edited excerpts of them to provide you with a fast and easy read. Sign-up for Automatic Receipt of Articles in your Inbox and follow us on FACEBOOK | and/or TWITTER so as not to miss any of the best financial articles on the internet.

Related Articles:

1. Here’s Why Williams STILL Believes a Hyperinflationary Great Depression is Coming!

The U.S. economic and systemic-solvency crises of the last five years continue to deteriorate yet they remain just the precursors to the coming Great Collapse: a hyperinflationary great depression. The unfolding circumstance will encompass a complete loss in the purchasing power of the U.S. dollar; a collapse in the normal stream of U.S. commercial and economic activity; a collapse in the U.S. financial system, as we know it; and a likely realignment of the U.S. political environment.

2.  A Hyperinflationary Great Depression Is Coming to America by 2014! Here’s Why

The U.S. economic and systemic-solvency crises of the last four years only have been precursors to the coming Great Collapse: a hyperinflationary great depression. Outside timing on the hyperinflation remains 2014, but there is strong risk of a currency catastrophe beginning to unfold in the months ahead…moving into a full blown hyperinflation [in a few] months to a year… depending on the developing global view of the dollar and reactions of the U.S. government and the Federal Reserve. [Let me go into more detail.] Words: 2726

3. Williams: U.S. Can Not Avoid Coming Financial Armageddon

The U.S. economy is in an intensifying inflationary recession that eventually will evolve into a hyperinflationary great depression… [at which time] a $100 bill in the United States will become worth more as functional toilet paper/tissue than as currency. The U.S. government and Federal Reserve already have committed the system to this course through the easy politics of a bottomless pocketbook, the servicing of big-moneyed special interests, and gross mismanagement. The article is long but well worth the read. Words: 3565

4. Williams: Expect Hyperinflation Within the Next 5 Years

Pushing the big problems into the future appears to have been the working strategy for both the Fed and recent Administrations, yet the U.S. dollar and the budget deficit do matter, and the future is at hand. The day of ultimate financial reckoning has arrived, and it is playing out. Words: 1096

5. Hyperinflation to Occur in U.S. as Early as 2013! Here’s Why

In our estimation, the most likely time frame for a full-fledged outbreak of hyperinflation in America is between the years 2013 and 2015 [based on 12 warning signs that are on the horizon.] Americans who wait until 2013 to prepare, will most likely see the majority of their purchasing power wiped out. It is essential that all Americans begin preparing for hyperinflation immediately. Words: 2065

6. New Boom-bust Cycle Risks Hyperinflationary Depression and Much Higher Gold Price – Here’s Why

It is my view that the world has entered a new boom-bust cycle driven by oil prices. Oscillating oil prices – as opposed to credit cycles – will repeatedly stimulate and crash the highly levered global economy. Governments have not recognized this new cycle, and as part of a fruitless effort to retain control over deteriorating real growth and rising unemployment central banks will print more and more money, risking a hyperinflationary depression (stagflation at best). [As such,] the only respite for many investors is gold. [Let me explain.] Words: 925

7. 2012: More Money-printing Leading to Accelerating Inflation, Rising Interest Rates & Then U.S. Debt Crisis! Got Gold?

Evidence shows that the U.S. money supply trend is in the early stages of hyperbolic growth coupled with a similar move in the price of gold. All sign point to a further escalation of money-printing in 2012…followed by unexpected and accelerating price inflation, followed by a rise in nominal interest rates that will bring a sovereign debt crisis for the U. S. dollar with it as the cost of borrowing for the government escalates…[Let me show you the evidence.] Words: 660

8. True Money Supply Is Already Hyperinflationary! What’s Next?

Economists are telling central banks to accelerate monetary growth even faster…to avoid a bank balance sheet implosion with all the deflationary consequences that implies. [As such,] the prospects for 2012, and thereafter, are for Total Money Supply to continue its hyperbolic trend – and when such a trend becomes established it becomes almost impossible to stop because the whole debt-based economy and the banking system would collapse. [Let me explain further.] Words: 550

9. How Likely Will Hyperinflation Occur in the U.S.?

There is a difference between inflation and hyperinflation…and there is no gradual path from one to the other. To wind up with true hyperinflation, some very bad things have to happen. The government has to completely lose control… the populace has to completely lose faith in the system… or both at the same time. [Are we there yet? Let’s take a look.] Words: 1188

10. 21 Countries Have Experienced Hyperinflation In Last 25 Years – Is the U.S. Next!

[Hyperinflation is not an unusual phenomenon. 32 countries have experienced hyperinflation over the last 100 years of which no less than 21 have experienced it in the past 25 years and 4 in the past 10 years. The United States is one of the few countries to have experienced two currency collapses during its history (1812-1814 and 1861-1865). Is it about to happen again?] Words: 1450

11. Why Hyperinflation is Not Likely – Let Alone Imminent

The National Inflation Association (NIA) has just posted an article* which makes a number of interesting arguments for the advent of hyperinflation and, while I agree with the conclusion that we could potentially face such an event, I see it as just one of a few possible outcomes. Let me comment on the specific points in the NIA article. Words: 1666

12. Will This Be The USA in 2012?

The economic condition of the country continues to decline toward its rendezvous with an, as yet, unknowable catastrophe. Here is… a look (not a prediction) at a series of not improbable events that could develop [and which] would change our economic world overnight. Words: 1550

13. Creating More Inflation is Now the Official Policy of the Fed

The Fed is completely convinced that without an inexorably rising rate of inflation there won’t be enough money made available to finance our rapidly increasing national debt. [As such, they have just] disclosed that they now have an inflation goal of at least two percent . As a result, we are stuck with a perpetually decreasing standard of living, a middle class that is on the endangered species list and provided the holders of U.S. dollars a target rate for its destruction…[Indeed,] Bernanke’s actions are so destructive to savers that I’m sure if he were a broker, he would be telling his clients to buy more gold.