Why does there have to be an economy rifle. Why are folks so averse to spending good money on quality products?
If you buy cheap, you get cheap.
I could point you to a dozen examples of "quality products" that cost "good money" that were fuucking pieces of shiit. And that's just in the realm of hunting rifles. Throwing money at something doesn't equal making it better.
That said, there's the idea that a lot of people don't want or need something expensive, just so they can say they got "quality."
In other words, economy is not at odds with quality. The most expensive rifle in this house doesn't feed for shiit, and the safety is really sticky. It's sure accurate though. The cheapest rifle in this house feeds just fine, and the safety works just fine. And it sure is accurate. There is a factor of 7 in the price differential between these two rifles, and they are both chambered in the same cartridge.
