It's a predictable outcome though. Budgets, by implication, imply that resources are limited. Someone, somewhere is deciding winners and losers. A good budgete

It's a predictable outcome though. Budgets, by implication, imply that resources are limited. Someone, somewhere is deciding winners and losers. A good budgeter will ask for input to determine the next budget. They will treat savings will delight, and not penalise those who created them. They'll find out if the saving is permanently, or temporary. They might ask for suggestions with how the budget might be allocated. As the org gets bigger and bigger though it becomes impossible to do this on a individual-level basis. So next years budget is formed with incomplete data from this year. Some savings are because on lack-of-need, some are because not everything happens every year, some are because of incompetence. But the bigger the organisation the less likely this individual variance can be taken into account.