At Olyth, we track ticker symbols and percentage gains, but there is one metric "official" reports never show: The Labor Cost of Survival.
To prove this, the Olyth Half-Life Terminal performs a real-time audit comparing current asset costs in labor-hours against a historical baseline. For a 40-year-old making $50 an hour, the terminal baselines at 2006 (the midpoint of their lifespan) to reveal the true decay of their human energy potential.
As of today, the Olyth Purchasing Power Battery sits at a critical 32.6%. Our labor is dissipating at a rate of -207% since the baseline year.
1. The Asset Ladder: $SPY vs. Your Clock
In 2006, acquiring one "unit" of the American economy via a single share of $SPY required only 2.5 hours of labor for the median professional.
Today, that same share requires 13.1 hours.
Labor Decay: +11h (+420%)
Institutional Weight: You aren't just paying more dollars; you are trading five times more of your life for the same equity footprint.
2. The Survival Index: Rent, Transport, and Sustenance
Asset prices are one thing, but domestic survival is another. The "Sweat Equity Gap" is most visible in our basic monthly infrastructure:
Median Rent
In our baseline year of 2006, monthly shelter cost 15.2 hours of professional labor. Today, that same shelter requires 42.0 hours. That is an extra 27 hours of your life every month—nearly a full work week—just to keep a roof over your head.
Mobility and Sustenance
Car Payments: Have shifted from 6.6h to 11.7h (+77% decay).
Groceries: Perhaps the most aggressive silent killer, now requiring 20.0h of your month compared to just 7.8h in 2006 (+155% decay).
3. The Shadow Inflation Truth
The official CPI measures the cost of a basket of goods, but it doesn't measure the Labor-Hour Deficit. It doesn't show how quickly your purchasing power is decaying relative to the time it takes to earn it.
At Olyth, we believe that understanding the markets requires understanding this fundamental imbalance and accouting for Shadow Inflation. If your portfolio isn't outperforming the expansion of the Labor Cost of Survival, you are technically losing ground—your "Time-Alpha" is negative.
The Institutional Summary (2006 vs. Now)
Official CPI reports a +55.8% increase since 2006, while our Terminal reveals an aggregate +207.0% increase in the shadow price of your existence.While official metrics claim contained inflation, the human cost for your existence has spiked. In labor-hours, $SPY (1 Share) is up +420.0%, Median Rent is up +176.3%, Car Payment is up +76.7%, and Groceries is up +155.1%.You now have to work +54.6 additional hours of labor per month to maintain the same purchasing power you had in 2006.The shadow price of your existence is dissociating from the index they tell you to follow.
Stay ahead. Protect your time.