5 Common Myths that Still Persist

It depends on your definition of Free Markets.

A libertarian defines access to free markets as a human right which government must defend, not inhibit. Some libertarians refer to this as the freedom to associate. They believe that no one, not even their government, can ethically inhibit them from associating with others. If government has the power to regulate markets, then many libertarians believe there can be no free markets.

Politicians and reporters usually refer to free markets when they refer to deregulated markets. Deregulated markets are markets which were formerly regulated. Their definition of deregulation is fuzzy. The banking industry, for example, has been described as deregulated, but The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 and the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 have not been repealed and those regulations cover the banking industry.

The libertarian definition of free market prohibits their existence inside U.S. borders. Other definitions of free markets are sketchy at best. The U.S. economy is and always has been an example of a mixed market; A mixture of regulation and freedom. In mixed markets it is difficult to tell which is more to blame, the government or the market.

Drug companies are required to do clinical trials of their products. The doctors and patients who participate in the drug study are split into groups. Some groups are given a fake drug while other are given the real drug. The effectiveness of a drug can be determined by comparing the results of all the groups.

We only have one U.S. economy. We cannot (yet) go to an alternate universe and test what might happen if we did or didn't take a specific action. If we increase the national minimum wage and things seem better, we cannot guarantee that things would have been more or less better if we hadn't raised the national minimum wage.

Note: In the articles above, libertarian refers to people who subscribe to libertarian philosophy, not necessarily to members of the Libertarian Party, which is made up of many people who are not libertarians. The author (me) is a libertarian.

False.

According to the The Kinsey Institute web site: "54% of men think about sex everyday or several times a day, 43% a few times per month or a few times per week, and 4% less than once a month ..."

See Also: Snopes: On average, men think about sex every seven seconds.

False.

The U.S. Constitution does not grant rights to human beings. Human beings have inalienable rights. In this context, inalienable means that you cannot separate the right from the person.

The Bill of Rights lists some of the rights all humans have simply because they are human beings. Without defining where our rights come from, the writers of the Bill of Rights sought to make a list of some of our rights.

The Bill of Rights was added as an after thought to help ratify the U.S. Constitution and to meet the expectations of other nations. The real purpose of the U.S. Constitution is to define and limit the power of government.

Think of the frame of mind of the founders. Most were not career politicians. They were rebels who had just fought a war with an oppressive government. They never wanted to be subjected to that again and most of them sought a government which did not depend on the whims and machinations of a King and a royal court.

Our ancestors didn't give women the right to vote or grant slaves the right to freedom. Those were already their rights because they are human beings. Our ancestors realized this and stopped prohibiting them from being treated (by government) as something other than human beings.

False.

We tend to use only certain parts of our brains doing any specific task. Like our bodies, our brains have many areas to perform different functions. You wouldn't expect your liver to keep your blood pumping or your bladder to maintain your tear ducts.

See Also: Snopes: The Ten-Percent Myth

True and False.

It depends on your definition of Inflation.

Price Inflation can be caused by Monetary Inflation.

Price Inflation is an increase in the general price of goods in an economy.

Monetary Inflation is an increase in the amount of money in circulation.

Some Economists believe that Price Inflation and Monetary Inflation are the same thing, but that is a relatively new idea. The U.S. economy generally operates on the idea that we can have Price Inflation without having Monetary Inflation.

Sometimes the meaning of inflation changes with its use. Reporters seem to make this mistake often. A report might start with an economist talking about Monetary Inflation and then finish with someone drawing conclusions about Price Inflation.

One popular figure, The Consumer Price Index (CPI), is an inaccurate indicator of inflation. It is inaccurate because the basket of items it uses does not reflect all the products in the economy. For example, real estate may not included in the basket. Still, it is beneficial when comparing prices from two different time periods.