On last night’s episode of The Office (spoiler alert for you DVR-ers), the newly entrepeneurial Michael Scott learned that his eponymous paper company’s prices were simply too low. Employee Ryan Howard had miscrunched the numbers, and while the discounts had enabled the Michael Scott Paper Company to steal business from Dunder-Mifflin, the scheme wasn’t sustainable. Thus, Scott was forced to call his customers and ask them for more money for the paper he had already delivered. Fortunately for him, Dunder-Mifflin was similarly imperiled, and offered to buy the MSPC, leading to tense negotiations in which each side flaunted its nuclear option, saying it would be the one more likely to survive a blow-em-up price war. In the end, Scott bluffed better and got a favorable agreement.The same thing is happening here. Earlier this year, King County and 18 local cities were awarded a big federal criminal justice grant–$4.9 million–with the funds being distributed on the basis of each municipality’s felony rate. But the money has yet to be distributed, and now King County realizes it didn’t get enough in the original agreement. It says it needs more, because it has to cover regional costs like jails, courts, and prosecutors. The cities are willing to give a little, but not as much as the county wants. And if they can’t agree by May 18th, everyone loses: the grant money simply goes away. Who will bluff better? Stay tuned…