SSOL Categories

The SSOL calculation starts with a biological and social foundation. Human beings require certain things to survive, and certain additional things to participate in a modern economy. These requirements define the categories that make up the SSOL basket. Each category represents an inelastic markets - demand is stable because the need is real, not discretionary.

The categories are not arbitrary. They emerge from asking one question with increasing specificity: what does a person need first to stay alive, then to stay healthy, then to function as a worker in this society? The answer traces a hierarchy from the most basic biological needs outward to the requirements of modern economic participation.

The four survival requirements

1. Air

Air is listed first because the framework follows the survival hierarchy, and air is the first requirement on that hierarchy. Without it you have minutes. It belongs at the top of the list because that is where it belongs in reality.

Air currently contributes zero to the SSOL calculation. There is no market price for ambient air - you cannot purchase the right to breathe it - and the publicly available pricing methodology has nothing to measure. If that changes, the category exists and so does the methodology to handle it. Until then, air is here because the framework is built on the survival hierarchy and an honest framework does not skip the first item on that hierarchy because it is inconvenient to price.

2. Water

Clean water is essential for drinking, sanitation, and hygiene. Unlike air, water is already a monetized resource in most markets - utility companies and beverage providers charge for its supply. This category covers municipal water service costs including all taxes and fees.

In areas where municipal water quality is inadequate, the category extends to filtration costs or bottled water as needed to provide safe drinking water. Food deserts and water quality issues often overlap geographically; the SSOL calculation accounts for both when they apply.

3. Food

This category covers the cost of a nutritious and balanced diet based on what is actually available within the commute radius. It includes grocery purchases and, where relevant to the worker's schedule and access, necessary dining expenses.

The grocery pricing reflects the designated transportation method. Workers who commute by walking or transit can only carry what they can physically manage per trip, which means the food pricing cannot assume bulk purchases or weekly shopping runs. Workers who commute by car can access grocery stores with full weekly shopping capability.

Food deserts - areas where fresh, affordable food is not accessible within the commute radius - are treated as a cost factor that raises the food component for employers in those areas. This gives those employers an incentive to improve food access near their workforce.

4. Housing and Clothing

Housing is protection from the elements - a place to sleep, store possessions, and maintain basic hygiene. The housing component covers the cost of a single occupant's dwelling, calculated without assuming a roommate or shared costs. It also covers basic furnishings (bed, table, chairs, couch, dresser) including delivery, and required utilities (electricity, water, heating, sewer, trash).

The dwelling type is whatever has sufficient supply within the commute radius to meet workforce demand. It may be an apartment, a house, a mobile home, a manufactured housing unit, or any other legal dwelling option that meets a minimum habitability standard. The calculation also includes home or rental insurance at appropriate coverage levels.

Clothing covers everyday attire appropriate for the climate and for basic social participation. Work-specific clothing requirements imposed by the employer - uniforms, business formal, safety gear - are added to the clothing component baseline, not substituted for it. The employer cannot require specific attire without compensating the worker for its cost.

Long-term survival requirements

5. Healthcare

Healthcare covers access to necessary medical services through an insurance plan with a $0 deductible - meaning the worker can actually use the coverage without an upfront cost barrier when they need care. The component covers monthly premiums, and the plan must include access to general practitioners and hospitals within the commute radius. Having insurance that cannot be used because there are no in-network providers nearby is not coverage - it is paperwork.

Healthcare is the largest and most structurally complex component of SSOL in the current U.S. market. A significant portion of what a healthcare premium costs today does not go toward actual medical care - it covers insurance company administrative overhead, pharmacy benefit manager fees, hospital billing departments, and malpractice insurance structures. The Healthcare page examines this in detail. SSOL does not directly reform healthcare, but it makes the true cost of the broken system visible and gives large employers a direct financial reason to push for structural change.

6. Education

Education as a category refers to the ability to develop and demonstrate skills for employment. Basic educational resources - public libraries, online courses, open educational materials - are widely available without cost. The primary access problem in modern education is not knowledge itself but recognized accreditation: proving to employers that you know what you know.

SSOL addresses the education challenge through a separate but connected framework - the prerequisite competency tree described on the Education page. The tree is free, open to everyone, permanent, and never expires. Employers define their position requirements as specific competency nodes. Workers progress through the tree at their own pace and become visible to employers when they complete the required nodes. Education in the SSOL context is a workforce development system, not a tuition line item.

Requirements for economic participation

7. Transportation

Transportation covers the cost of reaching the workplace and accessing essential goods and services within the commute radius using the designated transportation method. For car-based transportation, this includes vehicle payment (purchase or lease at SSOL-approved models), fuel, insurance, and maintenance. For transit, it covers monthly pass costs. For employer- provided shuttle arrangements, it covers the worker's contribution to that system.

The transportation method is determined by what is operationally viable given the employer's schedule and location, as described in the Rules section. The method used affects downstream calculations - particularly food pricing and healthcare accessibility.

8. Communication

Communication covers the tools required to be a functioning employee and member of society. Currently that means a smartphone with a data plan and, in most markets, home broadband internet service. The category may also include a basic computing device where the employment context requires one.

Technology evolves and this category evolves with it. What constitutes necessary communication infrastructure is reviewed and updated as part of the standard quarterly and annual review process for all SSOL components.

9. Government requirements

This category covers all costs that are mandatory under law: federal, state, and local income taxes; Social Security contributions; Medicare; unemployment insurance; and any required professional or personal licenses. It also covers the cost of tax preparation, recognizing that navigating the U.S. tax system often requires professional assistance for low-income filers.

A key simplification under SSOL is that all payroll taxes - currently split between employer and employee contributions across multiple line items - consolidate into a single tax calculation. The formula is: annual wages × the applicable combined tax rate = total tax obligation. What currently requires tracking multiple rates, multiple caps, and multiple filing requirements becomes one number. The employer's administrative burden is reduced; the employee's paycheck is clearer; the government collects the same amount.

9. Government requirements

This category covers mandatory government costs attached to the things SSOL already requires you to have. The principle is straightforward: if the framework requires something, and the government attaches a compliance cost to having it, that cost belongs here, so long as it is not covered above.

Transportation is a necessity - vehicle registration, and applicable licensing fees are government requirements attached to having one. Income taxes, Social Security, and Medicare contributions are mandatory costs of earning wages. Tax preparation is included because navigating the U.S. tax system reliably often requires professional assistance, particularly for workers managing income from multiple jobs.

Occupational licensing follows the employer-imposed costs principle established in Part 1: if the job requires a license, the employer posted a job that requires a license. The cost of obtaining and maintaining that license belongs in the SSOL calculation for that employer, the same way a required uniform or required tool does. The government requirement is attached to the job, not to the person in the abstract.

A key simplification under SSOL is that all payroll taxes consolidate into a single calculation. The formula is: annual wages × the applicable combined tax rate = total tax obligation. What currently requires tracking multiple rates, multiple caps, and multiple filing requirements becomes one number. The employer's administrative burden is reduced; the employee's paycheck is clearer; the government collects the same amount.