You're not kidding.

I'm glad all we had was merely spiraling out-of-control inflation in the 1970's & 1980's or millions more would have been laid off as a direct result, and the economy could have been as badly destroyed as post-WWI Germany, rather than the more moderate permanent damage we had here.

Simply due to one untrustworthy President and the cascading effect of those who trusted him and supported him anyway.

Not like there's any question.

That inflation becomes hyperinflation when the government tries to break that cycle by pumping money into the economy. Done properly, that's just the same "quantitative easing" that we had in the 2010s. "Properly" means that you end it just as it takes effect.

But if it doesn't have that effect, it becomes a self-reinforcing cycle. It's not the cause of the economic breakdown, but it is an easy way to quantify it.

Hyperinflation usually comes after a war, or sometimes after a government collapse. Something that completely stops all productivity in the country. Germany had a massive reparations bill, so what little work was getting done mostly got shipped out of the country.