Mutant Labor Markets and Inequality

If you like this blog, then you’ll love Ecocomics, the blog about comic books and economics. For example, why can’t mutants just do an honest day’s work?

Each mutant possesses a special skill which has its own inherent value. Because of this, a mutant can be viewed as a craftsman or a skilled laborer. Mutants with enhanced strength can work in construction, demolition, or even transportation. Storm could irrigate the crops of all the suffering farmers in the midwest and California when the droughts of summer are destroying their crops. Quicksilver could sort the daily mail output of the United States in 3 hours. And the extraordinary power of these abilities would only make the economic effect of using mutant powers that much more extraordinary itself. Time, labor, and machinery costs would all be cut dramatically.

Tragically, most mutants use their powers to either save the world or terrorize it. At least this is the popular depiction in Marvel Comics. Imagine what Magneto could do if he worked in construction. For one thing, all of those New York City public works project would have their completion dates moved up from 2018 to roughly five minutes from now. But instead, he spends his time sinking Russian submarines and making asteroid bases to live in. For the love of God, the man has the power to build himself a high-tech home in space. He could repair the Hubbell telescope with no trouble whatsoever.

This could be an interesting topic to explore. An influx of mutants into the labor market might lead, initially, to massive layoffs. Quicksilver could replace a huge number of mail carriers, and Colossus and Magneto would displace many many construction workers. Concern would immediately develop that even though our new, mutanted-up society was more prosperous overall, that the gains were not being widely shared. Instead, a relatively small number of high-powered mutant laborers, and those who had the good fortune to already own capital whose value can be enhanced by mutant labor, would reap essentially all the gains. The majority of people would be left behind.

We could, however, rectify the situation with a substantial progressive income tax levy. That, in turn, would provide the funds necessary to finance generous public services—clean, safe, complete streets; excellent schools and hospitals; efficient mass transit systems—that would benefit everyone. Of course you’d hear the argument that this kind of hefty taxation would eliminate the most talented mutants’ incentive to work hard and create value. And you might even hear the argument that the best way to finance services is to cut taxes on well-endowed mutants, and then create so much growth that the tax cuts pay for themselves.