The Inhale and Exhale of Economics

   (One euro = $1.20 = ten dirhams)

Ten by two neatly packed tobacco
five packs by two rows, or 200 loosies,
display one pack, two packs, three,
try your luck, display four.
Five by three by three wood boards-
an empty orange crate standing tall,
a man leaning against a wall,
a monument to Marlboro.

Exhale

From the port duty-free
one carton of Marlboro or Camel is 180 dirhams;
from the store with tax
one pack of Marlboro or Camel is 32 dirhams.
Bribing the police is 50 dirhams/week.

Inhale

Just outside the port on a street corner
A sells one pack at 22 dirhams
or loosies, one by one, at one dirham per cigarette.
A sells ten packs a day (+rolling paper+hashish)
Avergae profit per six-day week = 190 dirhams

Inhale

At a cafe ten minutes away B sells
one contraband cigarette at one dirham
two store-bought cigarettes at three dirhams
a three cigarette combination with Marquise at two dirhams
B sells an average of 200 cigarettes per day

Exhale

Expenses at the cafe B works out of eight hours a day:
Bread at two dirhams a day
Bread with cheese at 4 dirhams a day
Tea at five dirhams, cafe au lait at seven dirhams
B's average profit = 30-60 dirhams/week

Exhale

A has been in prison 21 times
Fine to avoid prison is 10,000 dirhams.