If you want a puppy, then first ask for a pony

Many children figure out how to negotiate to get the present they want - either for Christmas or a birthday. They learn first to ask for more (a pony), and then back down to what they really want (a puppy).

When I was a child in Pittsburgh I observed more sophisticated negotiations between labor unions (like the United Steelworkers) and management. As shown above in a hypothetical example, the union started by asking for an 8% raise. Management countered that’s absurd, we can afford just 2%. The union replied how about 6%. Management replied no, only 4%. Finally with great fanfare they split the difference and converged on 5%.

Contrast that with President Trump’s fumbled approach to fulfilling his campaign promise of a southern border wall. When he didn’t get the $5.7 billion he wanted, he partially shut down the government for 35 days. Then he signed a bill that gave him just $1.375 billion. He followed that by declaring a national emergency to try for $8 billion – which likely will be overturned in court since he said it was not real:  

"I could do the wall over a longer period of time. I didn't need to do this," Trump told reporters gathered in the White House Rose Garden on Friday, shortly before he signed a proclamation declaring the emergency. "But I'd rather do it much faster."

His latest budget has requested $8.6 billion from Congress.