ABSTRACT
Zero-based budgeting (ZBB) is a technique that requires budget decision makers to review all existing programs from scratch or on a zero basis. The fundamental assumption is that all programs will go through an annual review process. Budget decision makers are supposed to estimate costs and benefits of all potential programs and choose the best programmatic alternatives to achieve the goal of their organizations. Under ZBB systems, budget decision makers are supposed to prepare next year's budgets after reviewing all programs from scratch. The U.S. Department of Agriculture adopted ZBB in 1962; Carter introduced it into the budget process of Georgia in the 1970s and implemented it in the federal government. Another alternative to ZBB is target-based budgeting (TBB). ZBB has recently been reintroduced as a way of controlling budgets in the national, state, and local governments. The Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) Universal Service Fund (USF) is a program that extends telephone service to rural areas.
