Hi there Reader,
The shadow economic system of FPC Morgantown runs on pouches of mackerel. Sure, the fish. Very similar to any fiat, or valuable steel normal there isn’t a intrinsic worth to the forex, to the mackerel.
You is perhaps a wise ass considering to your self that certainly you may eat the mackerel in the event you needed and there may be some quantity of protein that some jail economist has a mannequin for deriving intrinsic worth primarily based on caloric density and protein richness. However alas, no.
Many of the mackerel in circulation is so previous that consuming it might most definitely end in a go to to the medical station or worse a nasty case of the runs. Belief me once I say the final place you wish to have the runs is in a communal bathroom block that 100 different guys make use of as effectively.
So no, the mackerel – also referred to as Macks – are definitely not for consuming. However why mackerel? Why not hen, salmon, tuna, or like different prisons, stamps? Stamps seem to be a extra logical alternative, they’ve a number of face worth denominations, they’re a type of authorities tender, they’ve some worth on the surface, they’re onerous to counterfeit, they don’t go rancid after time, and within the phrases of the gentleman I met within the laundry room final night time “doggon thangs odor like pussy that gon’ rotten”.
Earlier than we will get into the explanation for “The Mack Customary” at FPC Morgantown allow us to look at extra deeply the gray market forces at play by first understanding what the white market seems to be like.
Every prisoner has two methods to earn {dollars} whereas incarcerated. A buddy or member of the family on the surface can “add cash to your books” – This implies they deposit a sum of cash into your prisoner belief fund account held by the BOP in your behalf.
The opposite approach is by incomes the {dollars} via your jail job. Every individual in a Federal jail should have a job. The pay for these jobs vary from $0.20 to $1.00 an hour, so evidently in the event you’re relying in your jail job solely to earn cash whereas inside there may be going to should be some creativity in your half.
What’s cash truly used for anyway? The place does one spend the cash they earn or that family and friends ship? Each week there’s a designated day that you’re allowed to “store” on the commissary.
You fill out a sheet such as you would have present in an previous mail order catalog. You mark what merchandise you need after which amount you need. You then wait in line for over an hour whereas commissary workers collect the objects to be distributed.
You should purchase all types of things to make your keep in jail extra comfy. Your sentence goes a lot smoother with restricted creature comforts in your facet.
For instance, you should purchase what prisoners name “greys” which is a gray sweatshirt and gray sweatpants so that in off hours you may take away your stiff uncomfortable uniform you may become one thing extra comfy.
They promote comfy sneakers so that in recreation time you may put on one thing aside from your heavy and mightily uncomfortable jail issued work boots. The commissary additionally sells shelf steady meals objects and snacks.
In fact, a very powerful shelf steady merchandise they promote are pouches of mackerel. One pouch goes for $1.40 – They was once a greenback, however that’s inflation for you.
There are a number of different components of the white market jail economic system to pay attention to. These components actually drive the gray market in a jail.
The primary is every prisoner has a spending restrict imposed on them of $360 per thirty days. It isn’t too troublesome to hit that restrict.
A pill for watching rented films prices $148, a pair of sneakers $70, a pair of extra comfy work boots $100. A pouch of Rooster $4.00.
You need to be fairly strategic about what you purchase and when with the intention to be sure to don’t run over your allotted spending quantity too early within the month.
The second issue is the factitious limits positioned on sure objects. For instance, you may solely purchase as much as 10 pouches of tuna, or just one pocket book at a time, or solely 20 $0.78 stamps, or 10 $1.00 stamps.
Understanding these components of synthetic limits, inflated costs, and suppressed wages we will start to find why a gray market exists in each single jail establishment, globally.
There exists two main must prisoners taking part within the economic system. The flexibility to beat the factitious limits imposed by the administration and the power to earn greater than is feasible by their jail jobs alone.
Fairly frankly, it’s the similar wants and motivations that have been readily obvious and effectively studied by economists through the reign of the Soviet Union. It’s the similar components and motivations that guarantee a thriving black and gray market in communist Cuba at the moment.
At any time when these kinds of limits and restrictions are imposed throughout the in any other case free and unencumbered market by high down directors, market members discover a work-around.
That’s the reason the black/gray market is the biggest market on earth. It has nothing to do with criminality and every thing to do with sincere actors being pushed out of the permissioned system.
For the blokes who don’t have assistance on the surface, they should generate profits on the within – to complement the pittance they are going to earn from their jail job – as such, folks run varied hustles.
Some guys will do your laundry for you, operating what basically quantities to a wash, dry, and fold service with pickup and supply. This normally runs for 1 mack per garment with some type of quantity low cost for giant orders.
Some guys are cooks and can put together sizzling meals to promote proper from their cell like some type of meals stall in a 3rd world bazaar.
You’ll be able to usually odor the (frankly scrumptious) scents radiating from the cooks makeshift kitchen (by the best way, there’s a type of symbiotic relationship with the chef and the laundry man. The chef hoards the iron to be used in cooking thereby limiting availability to iron your individual garments. The laundry man has the one different iron, so if you need pressed clothes you could have interaction his providers).
The chef will usually have runners that take the recent ready meals from cell to cell, amassing packets of mackerel as fee – a type of jail equal of Uber Eats. I’m positive they get some fee for this job they carry out.
In fact some guys function on the unsuitable facet of the “regulation” and promote contraband objects equivalent to cell telephones, cigarettes, and vapes although I haven’t seen this personally but, I’ve heard of it throughout the jail.
Apparently the CO’s have heard about it too, as I’ve skilled two shakedowns (all of us are required to depart our dwelling space whereas a pair of CO’s search our cells and in all places else within the room together with air vents and lighting).
When sports activities video games are on the TV there will probably be bookmakers and gamblers making an attempt out their luck at a mackerel windfall. Identical to on the surface folks will do what they should do to make a buck – or a mack.
For the blokes who do have assistance on the surface and cash flowing onto their books they’ve barely completely different motivations.
Some simply need to have the ability to buy greater than the factitious limits enable for. Some are required by their sentence to pay fines or restitution and in the event that they place an excessive amount of cash on their books, the quantity they are going to be required to repay every month will enhance, so it makes monetary sense for them to maintain their books gentle on money, and deal with solely mackerel. Form of like the best way on the surface a businessman will hold their taxable revenue as little as doable (assume Jeff Bezos famously being paid a wage of $1.00).
And a few simply wish to nook the Keebler Chocolate Cookie market (a extremely popular merchandise, by the best way) and develop into the go to market maker for that product.
Regardless of the motivations or needs, people make rational choices in their very own financial self pursuits, being institutionalized in a jail won’t change that. In reality, it’s going to amplify it.
Profitable hustler will accrue a considerable amount of macks whereas in jail. What do they do with it? It’s possible you’ll be questioning how they convert a few of that to “actual cash”.
Like each different economic system there are forex converters / cash changers, and in a jail full of extremely educated white collar criminals, it seems to be a reasonably subtle operation.
I actually haven’t participated within the hustle and bustle. I’ve solely been right here lengthy sufficient to buy at commissary as soon as, and I used to be capable of purchase every thing I wanted with out breaking the spending limits or merchandise limits. So whereas I have no idea precisely how this half works I’ve some inkling of an understanding.
From what I collect changing Macks to {Dollars} works by the customer of the macks getting an affiliate on the surface to ship the vendor of the macks USD by way of Money App or by depositing cash onto their books straight utilizing one thing like Western Union.
Like all economies there may be a point of barter that happens within the jail system.
Some guys refuse to trouble with Macks and as an alternative will commerce with larger worth hen, or soda, or flaming sizzling Cheetos, all of it depends upon who you might be coping with and what they need. All the pieces is at all times open to negotiation.
Nonetheless, barter quickly turns into ineffective at scale and forex have to be utilized. Very similar to all economies, what’s used as forex is mostly nugatory – be it paper, steel, or pukka shells – however there’s a type of shared acceptance (or delusion) that the factor we select represents some type of worth that all of us can agree on.
In FPC Morgantown, that’s pouches of Mackerel, and they’re value roughly $1.00
As we shut this letter allow us to return to our authentic query. Why Macks? Why not stamps?
The quick reply is I don’t know. I’ve theories however I’m not sure. My finest concept to this point is 1) Most individuals don’t truly wish to eat the mackerel, so that they keep in circulation longer than one thing fascinating like hen which extra folks wish to eat; 2) There seems to be no restrict on what number of mackerel pouches you should purchase from the commissary.
From what I collect, stamps are at all times restricted – actually, most issues are – however not mackerel pouches. I feel these two observations are what lead my forefather prisoners to discovered a complete shadow economic system primarily based on the Mackerel Customary.
As I write this it’s December twenty sixth, The day after Christmas. My eighth night time as a prisoner. It hasn’t taken lengthy to start out seeing the best way issues actually work, the best way the true economic system features, the best way people will adapt to any scenario we discover ourselves in.
Identical to on the surface there are winners and losers, moguls and paupers, blue collar and white collar.
However in contrast to the surface, there’s a shared camaraderie between the courses and strata of prisoner, an “us versus them” undertone, prisoner versus cop.
Merry Christmas everybody. I want I used to be there to rejoice with my household and with you.
Keonne Rodriguez
Write to Keonne:
Keonne Rodriguez
11404-511
FPC Morgantown
FEDERAL PRISON CAMP
P.O. BOX 1000
MORGANTOWN, WV 26507
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It is a visitor put up by Keonne Rodriguez. Opinions expressed are completely their very own and don’t essentially replicate these of BTC Inc or Bitcoin Journal.
