At the other end of the scale, outside the personal realm, economic issues are much less clear. When politicians talk about The Economy, they are referring to macroeconomics. There are people who like to change the rules of our economic system, sometimes in the belief that they can improve it but usually so that they can benefit at the expense of everyone else. This is no accident. The inherent difficulties of the subject would be great enough in any case, but they are multiplied a thousandfold by a factor that is insignificant in say, physics, mathematics, or medicine - the special pleading of selfish interests.
Agriculture subsidies benefit farmers at the expense of taxpayers and consumers.
Tax deductions for mortgages benefit real estate developers and homeowners at the expense of non-homeowners. Government owned and operated schools benefit parents with children in them at the expense of all taxpayers. By focussing on short-term benefits and enacting laws for special interest groups, politicians guarantee their reelection. The long-term effects of their policies typically occur after they are out of office or when the electorate has forgotten their complicity. Those who choose to remain ignorant of economics have no basis for judging or understanding new policies or the politicians and special interests responsible for them.