Societal Standard of Living

What is SSOL?

Societal Standard of Living (SSOL) is an economic guideline that ensures any individual working 40 hours in a week can afford all basic necessities—such as housing, food, healthcare, transportation, and communication—without requiring government assistance. SSOL is regionally adjusted, transparently calculated, and designed to replace traditional minimum wage models with a market-based approach to setting wages.

Why SSOL Matters

Currently, many workers struggle to afford essential needs such as housing, food, healthcare, and transportation. SSOL shifts the current conversation from what a minimum wage should be to using actual economic data to determine a wage that truly covers living expenses.

Key Principles of SSOL

• Locally Adjusted – SSOL varies by location to reflect actual living costs for that area.
• Comprehensive – Covers all essential expenses like housing, food, utilities, transportation, healthcare, and taxes.
• Flexible – Workers can meet the 40-hour threshold by working one full time job or multiple part time jobs.
• Transparency – Employers provide a breakdown of SSOL wage components to workers.
• Updated Quarterly – Ensures wages keep pace with as prices change.

SSOL vs. Traditional Minimum Wage

SSOL differs significantly from the traditional minimum wage by using real-world economic data to determine wages, rather than relying on static laws or political negotiations.

Traditional minimum wage is often set through legislative processes that may not keep pace with rising living costs. It tends to be a one-size-fits-all approach, meaning wages may be too low in high-cost areas and unnecessarily high in low-cost regions. Additionally, minimum wage adjustments are typically delayed for political reasons, making them slow to respond to inflation and economic shifts.

SSOL, by contrast, is a dynamic, data-driven approach. It is calculated based on the actual cost of essential goods and services within a specific area, ensuring that workers earning an SSOL-compliant wage can afford basic necessities. Unlike minimum wage, which remains fixed until lawmakers change it, SSOL is updated regularly based on the highest costs observed in the previous period. This prevents wages from lagging behind economic realities.

By aligning wages with living costs and adjusting periodically, SSOL ensures financial stability for workers without the need for government subsidies, reducing reliance on social programs and enabling a more self-sufficient workforce.

SSOL vs. UBI

SSOL is not Universal Basic Income (UBI). Although they share the common goal of ensuring financial stability, they differ significantly in approach and execution.

UBI is a financial policy where all citizens receive a regular, unconditional payment from the government, regardless of employment status or income level. The goal of UBI is to provide a financial safety net, reduce poverty, and support economic stability by ensuring everyone has a baseline level of income.

SSOL is a proposed market-based work-centic framework that ensures individuals working 40 hours per week can afford all essential expenses without reliance on government assistance. Instead of providing a universal payout, SSOL sets wage guidelines based on the actual cost of living in a given area, ensuring wages naturally adjust to economic conditions.

While both concepts aim to create financial security and reduce dependence on government aid, they take fundamentally different paths: UBI provides a fixed income regardless of work, while SSOL ensures wages are aligned with real-world living costs to maintain self-sufficiency through employment.