Progressive Pricing: A Step Towards Reducing Economic Inequality

Economic inequality is a growing problem that affects millions, and more likely billions, of people around the world. Although some  countries have acknowledged the problem, in the Anglophone world, economic polarisation is regarded at best as a cost of doing business, and at worst, as a benefit meaning that the rich are getting even richer, which is after all the real purpose of capitalism.

Some countries have tried to implement policies aimed at reducing this gap, but the results have been far from satisfactory. Part of the wider cure is a totally new and different economic system that featured heavy taxation of the rich and unearned wealth, but since that looks very unlikely in the near future, could something be done within the current wretched system that is more and more often leaving many people without basic necessities like nutritious food, warm shelter, and good education? One possibility is progressive pricing.

Progressive pricing would be a system that ensures everyone has access to basic necessities such as food, housing, energy, and income. It would have spin-off effects on making education much fairer too, by making it very expensive indeed to school your child privately.

The idea is that a safety net should exist to prevent people from experiencing utter misery or dying from want. This safety net does not need to be luxurious and therefore absurdly expensive, but it should be enough to ensure that no one is left sleeping in the street or desiring to commit suicide because life is just too hopeless. Basic education about energy, food, nature, and democracy should also be provided as an adjunct so that people could choose how to spend money and time more wisely.

In 2023, there is now way that Britain would adopt such an idea, but energy, food and other crises worsen, political will to try something bold may strengthen. It would certainly be transformative if we shifted from the current system, which is the real ‘Project Fear’ to ‘Project Share’, where people would no longer feel afraid for their lives and livelihoods. Progressive pricing is a feasible solution that can lead to a more equitable society.

The current economic system is rigid and complex. It only works when the supply is expanding, and to an ever increasing number of people, it is clearly not sustainable in the long term. The free-market machine cannot accept that the period of unlimited growth and greed is coming to a close. The only solution is to create a system that ensures everyone has access to basic necessities.

The implementation of progressive pricing requires a significant shift in mindset. Consumers need to demand solutions so that policies can be put in place to ensure everyone’s needs are met. The government must be willing to invest in basic necessities and education to ensure that everyone has the opportunity to thrive not just barely survive.

A progressive pricing system also requires us to get closer to our energy sources as transmission and shipping become more expensive and unreliable. This kind of shift has happened with natural gas more than once in the United States over the last half century, wherein energy-intensive industries using lots of gas and oil moved from the north-east to the south-west to get easy, cheap and reliable access to their once colossal, and still considerable, energy bonanza.

Although progressive pricing is not without its challenges, it is a transformative solution that can create a more equitable society. The system has the potential to reduce the economic gap and ensure that everyone has access to basic necessities. Progressive pricing is an approach that can help to build a fairer, more sustainable world for future generations.