In our new December issue, we decided to take stock of the long-term drivers of the affordability crisis. We didn’t want to just describe what is more expensive, but why things are more expensive, and what tactics are being used to make them so. Prospect writing fellow Emma Janssen wrote about how inequality makes things more expensive: Companies cater to their richer customers and entice the rest of us with “premium” products and experiences that we can’t afford to miss. And executive editor David Dayen followed the role of technology: how companies use big data and AI to exploit an individual’s willingness to pay.
This week on our live show, David and Emma discuss these articles, and what they say about the proper policy responses to the rise in the cost of living. As companies engineer the guesswork out of pricing and entice non-rich Americans with cheap and deceptive credit, regulators and politicians need to be thinking about these strategies and what they can do to promise a more affordable future.
As we cover the regime in Washington and its impact on your life, we’ll be livestreaming every Friday at 12:30 p.m. ET to give you the information you need to understand the week in news. Join us by subscribing to our YouTube channel today!