The Economy is K-Shaped (And You're at the Bottom) | MOAI Studio
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Surf the Singularity #009<br>January 2026
The Economy is K-Shaped (And You're at the Bottom)
Look at the stock market. Now look at your grocery bill.
> the stock market is up
> grocery bills are up too
> "the economy is booming"
> the economy is 7 companies buying GPUs
> AI acts like a dam, trapping the gains up top
> 100x more productive, 0x more hires
> the surplus goes into more compute
> stocks at all-time highs, wages flat for decades
> the ladder has been pulled up
> the middle rungs are being automated away
> what's left is the top and whatever robots can't do yet
> equity or hardware is the new entry ticket
> the trickle-down valve is welded shut
> the economy splits into above the dam and below it
Appendix · Further Signal
K-shaped recovery — Wikipedia
The Magnificent Seven — Wikipedia
Technological unemployment — Wikipedia
Jobless recovery — Wikipedia
Economic inequality — Wikipedia
Gini coefficient — Wikipedia
Discussion — Hacker News
Discussion — Reddit
The Verdict
The trickle-down valve is welded shut. Position yourself above the dam or accept your place below it. There is no middle ground anymore.
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