Some of the best economists come from the street.

The fleet was in and there was an awful lot of herring money in town. I was sitting in Tony's Bar and the empty two seats were filled with a pair of hookers which was par for the course in Kodiak back in those days.

As the guys from the fleet wandered in in various stages of cleanliness the hooker newest to town said that a couple of the fishermen smelled bad.

The veteran hooker looked at her and said, "In this town, that's what money smells like."

I quietly snickered, and instantly realized she was right. I also knew that the hookers in that town charged through the nose for their services. Then I quietly ordered another $2.75 beer. This was in about 1985. That was a lot of money for a beer at the time, at least stateside. Stateside it was probably about a buck a beer and drafts were well under a buck. Some stateside joints had two bit drown nights at the time for draft beer, meaning a draft beer cost a quarter.

I always knew there was money in Kodiak because of what the hookers, bartenders and drug dealers were charging. Good pot ran about $200/ounce and cocaine ran $200/gram.

I was pretty content with a couple of beers at the time. I wasn't a druggie or had little interest in the commercial sex market but I was always aware of the prices of these thing. They told me that there was an awful lot of money around if the prices were high.

It also said that there was money to be made for someone like me that was willing to take casual labor jobs as a carpenter. It was true. I did rather well taking any number of odd jobs. I could well afford coughing up $2.75 for a bottle of beer and going home to an evening meal of venison, halibut or king crab. This latter three cost me nothing but putting a line or a pot in the water or a well placed rifle shot.

Sometimes I fished for a living. One day as I pulled in a nice 250 pound halibut I looked at the guy next to me and commented, "That's NEW MONEY. That's money nobody has ever seen before!"

He looked confused.

The skipper was looking down on us from the wheelhouse and grinned. "He's right," he said. "That IS new money and you're guys are the first ones to see it. That's what your paycheck looks like."

Later I left Kodiak and wound up moving oil. I still move oil.

One day we were hauling crude oil from a ship to a refinery. I opened a tank and told a newbie to look at what new money looked like.

He looked confused so I explained to him that he was looking at money that was going to be turned into cash. The crude would be turned into gasoline, diesel or heating oil and people would pay good, hard earned cash for it. we were among the first to see this new money.

Back to street economics.

Later when I was cruising my sailboat and arrived in a new town the first place I would go is the nearest bar and check out prices. 

If beer, hookers, cocaine and pot were inexpensive I knew there was not a whole lot of loose cash floating around town. I'd simply sail off for the next town.

If the price of vice was expensive then I knew that there was money to be made for me doing odd jobs. Busy, successful people often sub out day to day things. If they can be making more money with their time it makes sense to hire out some of the day to day things. I would sometimes make money doing things like mowing lawns or cleaning leaves out of rain gutters and that sort of thing.

When you are living on a sailboat that has been paid for you don't need a whole lot.

One time I was chatting with a cop and told him about how I figured the street economy. He looked at me with curiosity which was to be expected. Then it dawned on him that I was simply looking for work. He told me what the going prices were for drugs. I told him they were too low and I would probably sail on the morning tide for greener pastures.

What was interesting is that he knew a woman that needed a little help but it didn't pay a whole lot. It panned out and I did make a little money and actually did rather well because she threw in a few things on top of the cash. She fed me and gave me a couple of bottles of scotch she had no use for. I also got a pie and some other chow to take with me. I painted a porch which took me about a day.

I didn't get rich but I certainly came out ahead. I wound up with some booze, some chow and a few bucks which was a pretty good deal.

As I sit here decades after this I have no idea what vices cost in my own neighborhood. It doesn't matter as I have a decent job and don't need to support myself by doing odd jobs. 

Still, there is a lot to be said for looking at economics from a grass roots level. I am no longer on the streets and as a seaman the national economy is what effects me now.
















To find out why the blog is pink just cut and paste this: http://piccoloshash.blogspot.com/2009/12/my-feminine-side-blog-stays-pink.html NO ANIMALS WERE HARMED IN THE WRITING OF TODAY'S ESSAY