Like the Kroog said, you can't have hyper-inflation without wage increases. What we're seeing here is serious wage deflation. In fact, the only thing that has kept us out of deflation at this point has been major government spending.
We've got evidence of two major deflationary spirals in effect now, the deflationary effect of a 30%+ drop in housing values (rapidly spreading to commercial real estate now) and now a 5% drop in payrolls as companies are shedding highly-paid veteran workers and going with more and more part-timers at a lower wage...or increasingly not replacing the workers at all. Fewer workers means fewer wages paid...deflationary on any economy.
Can you imagine where we would be without the stimulus?
It's becoming clear that the stimulus needs to kick in ASAP, because the second half of 2009 is not going to be pretty in the least.
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