The federal budgetary process in the United States has been surprisingly resistant to change. Reforms come and go but certain budgeting "truths" seem inviolable. Despite changes in nomenclature, budget "systems" (such as ZBB and PPB), and the players themselves, the basic game has stayed the same. Budgeting is a largely decentralized political process, governed by highly stylized rules for negotiation and given to predictable outcomes. Each year the budget grows larger most agencies receive an appropriation that is a, modest increase over the previous year's, and the nation's deficit grows larger.