The trouble is that economists, of whatever theoretical school (well, except Marxians who are rather different) usually are asked to weigh in on the issues that

The trouble is that economists, of whatever theoretical school (well, except Marxians who are rather different) usually are asked to weigh in on the issues that are not well-investigated and where considerable disagreement exists. Basic concepts like supply and demand, and subjective value, are taken for granted by economists, even though they're the things that the average layperson does not understand and really should. The genuinely important insights of economics are too rarely discussed, while the controversies get all the airtime - so of course what we hear is the non-reproducible, opinion-driven stuff.