The phrase, ‘things will get worse before they get better,’ is a very convenient quotation that can soothe the frayed nerves of the American people.  Besides, there is nothing wrong in hoping to get better results from the current crisis.  The oft repeated phrase however could be problematic as it instills a false sense of security among Americans that the problem is not grave.  There is a high probability that things may get worse and could result to economic collapse.  This means the rampaging inflation today could quickly transform itself to a horrible hyperinflation.  

Inflation is a natural economic phenomenon.  In fact, it could have some positive impact especially in counteracting extreme periods of economic deflation.  Previous American economic history pointed to recurring periods of deflation followed by inflationary spikes to balance the natural free market economy.  Economic contractions therefore are not alien to American society especially after periods of turbulent wars and political turmoil.  The economy has contracted many times due to scarcity of money supply.  Lack of money supply can halt economic growth but could also trigger inflationary spikes.  After a downturn, the economy corrects itself and returned again to a period of growth. 

Today’s inflation however is not triggered by economic contraction due to scarcity of money.  The United States is now experiencing a dangerous kind of inflation because it was triggered by an overflow of dollars in the real economy.  The economy therefore is brimming with money thus pushing the prices of goods and services at an unprecedented level.  The problem with this scenario is that the more money printed without gold backing, its value will eventually diminish.  So even if you have more money in your hands, its real value would be nil which makes commodity products unreachable or expensive.

The United States economy therefore is facing the prospects of hyperinflation.  Hyperinflation is uncontrollable inflation which usually results to the debasement of currencies.  With a hyperinflation, the money in your hands will be worthless.  So you could have box loads of money but you can only buy a loaf of bread.  This is the current path being treaded by the U.S. economy.  The Federal Reserve is bent on infusing more cash into the economy by intensifying the printing of paper money.  However, you need to take note that the current inflation has been the result of overflowing money in the economy.  So if more money is infused, this could only lead to hyperinflation and economic collapse. 

Hyperinflation has been ravaging some countries like Zimbabwe.  In that country, the basic unit of currency is 1 trillion Zimbabwe dollars.  So even if the people has a billion Zimbabwe dollar, they still cannot buy a decent meal.  This could happen to the United States if the current monetary policies will continue.  By printing more U.S. dollars out of thin air, the value of the buck could be eroded drastically thus transforming the current inflation into hyperinflation.  When hyperinflation sets in, there is no way for the U.S. economy to regain lost grounds.