I've noticed that most of the time, economists will only say the positive thing about the change they want to make. I really appreciate the lectures by Mark Blyth because he explicitly talks about tradeoffs.

If you want to see something fun, watch game shows from the 70's and 80's and note the prices of things like toasters and cars. Adjust for inflation to today, and especially for cars, compare the features. It's pretty amazing.

Anyway if someone is trying to tell you that one thing or one decision changed everything, they're at best telling you a partial truth, and more likely just lying.