Inflation Gone Wild: A Deep Dive into Hyperinflation's Dark Side
Imagine if you could travel back to the beloved days of 2016. What would you do? Many of us would jump at the chance to relive school days, reconnect with friends, and revisit those catfights. Picture this : four friends gathering at KFC with just Rs. 200. Back then, we could feast on snacks priced around Rs. 80 and delight in the WOW menu items for only Rs. 39. It was a frugal yet satisfying outing! Now, fast forward to 2024. The scene has changed dramatically. A standard Zinger burger now costs Rs. 135, meaning our budget can barely feed one person at KFC. Even our favorite Hide and Seek or Dark Fantasy biscuits, once just Rs. 20, have doubled to Rs. 40. This stark shift highlights the reality of inflation. When prices rise consistently over time, it’s a normal economic phenomenon. However, when prices increase at an alarming rate—say, doubling in a short period—we enter a more extreme realm known as hyperinflation. Decoding Hyperinflation: In 1956, Philip Cagan, an associate of th