budget padding
Inflated expense estimates
Budget padding is the practice of inflating cost estimates or funding requests beyond actual needs, building in a cushion for unexpected expenses or to protect against future cuts.
Common in corporate and government contexts: Every department pads their budget knowing finance will slash it by twenty percent.
The practice is widespread but officially frowned upon.
- inflatedExpanded with gas
- expensesMoney spent on things
- cost overrunExpenses exceeding allocated funds
- kickbackIllegal payment for services
- slush fundHidden discretionary money pool
funny money · embezzlement · ghost employees · overestimate · cushion · fraud · off the books · bureaucracy · procurement · no-bid contract · invoice · skim · waste · pork barrel · overspending · appropriations · auditor · graft
- financial fraudsecurities fraud, bank fraud, accounting fraud, defalcation, embezzler
- bureaucracybureaucracy, bureaucrat, bureaucrats, red tape, civil service
- Budget Mistakesoverspending, missed payments, impulse buying, hidden fees
budget paddingunderfunding
Inadequate monetary allocation
cost reduction · austerity · belt-tightening · fiscal conservatism · budget shortfall
budget, padding, budgets, budgeted, budgeting, budgetary, padded