When asked about his opposition to the amount of spending in the Build Back Better Act, Senator Joe Manchin cites the dangers of inflation and the harm that rising prices have already inflicted on his constituents in West Virginia. For supporters of social spending, this is politically tricky rhetoric to counter: Manchin’s concerns reflect those of average working-class people confronted with increased costs for staple commodities like gas, bread, and milk.

Defining inflation is easy. Inflation is when prices go up. But explaining what causes inflation is incredibly hard. The gulf between the simplicity of its definition and the complexity of its causes is what allows neoliberals like Manchin to pin inflation on government spending — in essence, using the specter of higher consumer prices to enforce austerity and protect accumulated wealth at the working class’s expense.

The basic idea put forward by neoliberals is that working-class people get scraps from their employers or the government for their own good, and that demanding anything more will just end up hurting them in the long run. In other words, the money tree of capitalism must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of workers and the poor.