Let us say a farmer had taken out a mortgage in 1928, and let us say his mortgage payment was US$20 (equivalent of 1 oz. of gold). In May 1929 he would have had to have sold 114 pounds of cotton to earn $20 (or 18 bushels of wheat, 23 of corn, 44 of oats). By May 1932 he would have had to sold 369 pounds of cotton (or 38 bushels of wheat, …):

* https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/030439...

* https://econbrowser.com/archives/2012/02/why_not_abolish

If he had 4 farm hands and paid each $5 (total $20), that's a lot more crops that need to be sold to cover payroll; or he could cut staff.

And it would have been the same for selling any good or service: to pay whatever debts you had (mortgage, car/business/student loans) you would have to work more to earn the same amount of money. Or a company that makes widgets needing to pay the same wages: sell more widgets to cover payroll, or reduce payroll (per head, or total heads).