A recent article discussed the fate of two spending bills in Congress. Map the choices into a simple two by two game and discuss what you expect the players to do. Democrats are at an impasse in negotiations over a pair of massive spending bills, and a classic problem in game theory can clear up the nature of their squabbling The two bills at stake are a $1 trillion bipartisan, roads-and-bridges infrastructure deal favored by the centrist wing of the party and a $3.5 trillion social spending bill backed by the progressive faction. Shortly after the bipartisan infrastructure bill passed the Senate in June, the Democratic leadership brokered a deal to couple it with the broader social spending reconciliation bill, which includes many of the progressives' biggest priorities. In other words, the two sides of the party promised their pet bills would move forward in tandem. A vote on the bipartisan deal in the House of Representatives is scheduled for Thursday, but progressives like Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Sen. Bernie Sanders have made rumblings about opposing the bill in recent days after Speaker Nancy Pelosi appeared to uncouple the two spending packages under pressure from the centrist wing of the party