Ep. 40 The Discretionary Trap: Why Washington Is Fighting Over the Smallest Slice

This week on Understandable Insights, Sue and Eric break down the federal budget. Most federal spending is not debated each year, it runs automatically through programs like Social Security, Medicare, and interest on the debt. That leaves a shrinking slice of the budget for the annual fights over defense, infrastructure, education, and research. Sue explains why that matters, how the system was designed to force discipline, and what happens when leaders rely on shortcuts (CRs) instead of real...