Having an inactive bracket would certainly be better, but there's a cut off line. Either you're inactive or not (with the bracket). The situation is more complex than that, with players 'sometimes' playing and 'sometimes' not, but generally falling.
An 'activity score' put forward by Egnard, would deal with everybody's level of activity. I believe, it's the droids we've been looking for. I love the ladder, I believe in the ladder, but it only works if we all put in the same effort. This activity score is the remedy.