Think I've hit a wall. The first one didn't feel like it had this much base management bullshit. Knocking down the avatar project shouldn't be a 4 step process. I just wanna shoot aliens, not manage all this other crap. The difficulty ramp is nuts too and the game doesn't give you enough tools to deal with it. Increasing the squad size is a daunting task involving money and time I just don't have. I think I need a fresh save.
It's a new game, lots of veteran EU players have your kind of shock starting out. Keep it up and everything will start to make sense.