Hi there Reader,
The shadow financial system of FPC Morgantown runs on pouches of mackerel. Sure, the fish. Very similar to any fiat, or valuable metallic customary there isn’t a intrinsic worth to the forex, to the mackerel.
You could be a wise ass pondering to your self that absolutely you possibly can eat the mackerel when you wished and there’s 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.
A lot of the mackerel in circulation is so previous that consuming it might most actually 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 need to have the runs is in a communal rest room block that 100 different guys make use of as properly.
So no, the mackerel – also referred to as Macks – are actually not for consuming. However why mackerel? Why not hen, salmon, tuna, or like different prisons, stamps? Stamps seem to be a extra logical selection, they’ve a number of face worth denominations, they’re a type of authorities tender, they’ve some worth on the surface, they’re laborious to counterfeit, they don’t go rancid after time, and within the phrases of the gentleman I met within the laundry room final evening “doggon thangs scent like pussy that gon’ rotten”.
Earlier than we will get into the rationale 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 appears 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 method is by incomes the {dollars} by way of 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 for sure when you’re relying in your jail job solely to earn cash whereas inside there’s going to have to 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 staff collect the objects to be distributed.
You should purchase all types of things to make your keep in jail extra snug. Your sentence goes a lot smoother with restricted creature comforts in your aspect.
For instance, you should buy what prisoners name “greys” which is a gray sweatshirt and gray sweatpants so that in off hours you possibly can take away your stiff uncomfortable uniform you possibly can turn into one thing extra snug.
They promote snug sneakers so that in recreation time you possibly can put on one thing apart from your heavy and mightily uncomfortable jail issued work boots. The commissary additionally sells shelf steady meals objects and snacks.
In fact, crucial shelf steady merchandise they promote are pouches of mackerel. One pouch goes for $1.40 – They was a greenback, however that’s inflation for you.
There are a number of different components of the white market jail financial 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 motion pictures prices $148, a pair of sneakers $70, a pair of extra snug work boots $100. A pouch of Hen $4.00.
It’s important 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 possibly can solely purchase as much as 10 pouches of tuna, or only 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 collaborating within the financial system. The power 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 had been readily obvious and properly studied by economists throughout 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.
Each time all these limits and restrictions are imposed inside 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 earn a living on the within – to complement the pittance they may earn from their jail job – as such, individuals run numerous hustles.
Some guys will do your laundry for you, working what primarily quantities to a wash, dry, and fold service with pickup and supply. This normally runs for 1 mack per garment with some form of quantity low cost for giant orders.
Some guys are cooks and can put together scorching meals to promote proper from their cell like some form of meals stall in a 3rd world bazaar.
You’ll be able to usually scent the (frankly scrumptious) scents radiating from the cooks makeshift kitchen (by the best way, there’s a form 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 personal garments. The laundry man has the one different iron, so in order for you pressed clothes you will need to have interaction his companies).
The chef will usually have runners that take the new ready meals from cell to cell, gathering packets of mackerel as cost – a form 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 incorrect aspect of the “legislation” and promote contraband objects akin to cell telephones, cigarettes, and vapes although I haven’t seen this personally but, I’ve heard of it inside the jail.
Apparently the CO’s have heard about it too, as I’ve skilled two shakedowns (all of us are required to go away our residing space whereas a pair of CO’s search our cells and in all places else within the room together with air vents and lights).
When sports activities video games are on the TV there can be bookmakers and gamblers making an attempt out their luck at a mackerel windfall. Identical to on the surface individuals 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 totally 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 preserve their taxable revenue as little as doable (suppose Jeff Bezos famously being paid a wage of $1.00).
And a few simply need to nook the Keebler Chocolate Cookie market (a very fashionable merchandise, by the best way) and turn 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 is not going to change that. In actual fact, it’s going to amplify it.
Profitable hustler will accrue a considerable amount of macks whereas in jail. What do they do with it? You could be questioning how they convert a few of that to “actual cash”.
Like each different financial system there are forex converters / cash changers, and in a jail full of extremely educated white collar criminals, it seems to be a fairly 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 in a position to 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 client 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 immediately utilizing one thing like Western Union.
Like all economies there’s a point of barter that happens within the jail system.
Some guys refuse to trouble with Macks and as an alternative will commerce with greater worth hen, or soda, or flaming scorching Cheetos, all of it will depend on who you might be coping with and what they need. Every little thing 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 usually nugatory – be it paper, metallic, or pukka shells – however there’s a form of shared acceptance (or delusion) that the factor we select represents some form of worth that all of us can agree on.
In FPC Morgantown, that’s pouches of Mackerel, and they’re price 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 idea thus far is 1) Most individuals don’t truly need to eat the mackerel, so that they keep in circulation longer than one thing fascinating like hen which extra individuals need to eat; 2) There seems to be no restrict on what number of mackerel pouches you should buy from the commissary.
From what I collect, stamps are at all times restricted – in truth, most issues are – however not mackerel pouches. I believe these two observations are what lead my forefather prisoners to discovered a whole shadow financial system primarily based on the Mackerel Customary.
As I write this it’s December twenty sixth, The day after Christmas. My eighth evening as a prisoner. It hasn’t taken lengthy to begin seeing the best way issues actually work, the best way the actual financial system capabilities, the best way people will adapt to any state of affairs 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 lessons 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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This can be a visitor put up by Keonne Rodriguez. Opinions expressed are completely their very own and don’t essentially mirror these of BTC Inc or Bitcoin Journal.
