Meanwhile, prices rise. But the explosion of consumerism never happens. Consumers never voted with their money, by means of savings, to underwrite an excessive expansion. The expansion was due to an inflated money supply. The awareness of this fact gradually works its way through the economy.
Businesses realize they are in trouble.
They have too many workers, too much machinery, too large inventories, and too much debt. It is time to wind down. So the economy, which has grown like a balloon, begins to contract. People lose their jobs, businesses fail or are sold. Inventories are unloaded at bargain prices.