Because the economy is a complex system which is constantly changing, and it’s important not to lose track of why we measure it. A 5% charge likely isn’t evenly

Because the economy is a complex system which is constantly changing, and it’s important not to lose track of why we measure it. A 5% charge likely isn’t evenly distributed, and the real impacts are often masked – if a major industry moves offshore, there are inevitably regional impacts more significant than the national average and if a bunch of people get new jobs working at McDonald’s or delivering Amazon packages it matters that they and their communities are poorer even if it looks like the unemployment rate is back to where it was 3 years ago. The minor fluctuations are the cue to look at the responsible factors, not to say “meh, it’s 15%, not 50%” and ignore it.