How the shutdown might end, according to game theory

“His decision not to use [emergency declaration][last week] is a little bit puzzling because in some sense that’s an almost ideal outcome,” McCarty said. “That’s the only way to end the shutdown while allowing both sides to save face.”

Another way out would be if some reps broke out of party gulags and proposed a reasonable and understandable plan.

Something similar happened once recently -- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gang_of_Eight_(immigration)

There's a mistake in the first chart ("Basic Chicken"). The lower-left cell should say "Dems win, Trump loses".