I've asked about that sort of thing before, and the answer I received is that computers fall as capital expenses, and it's in a different part of the budget. It's not so much that the overall budget has shortfalls, it's that the part of the budget that covers payroll has shortfalls, and money can't be moved from one part to another after the fiscal year has started and the budget is set. Or words to that effect. It all depends on how your bylaws are written if it can be changed mid-year or not. However, you'd *think* that if the board of directors wanted to change something bad enough that they could.

It sucks for the humans drones involved in the scenario. It's not just the paycheck money that the employee is missing out on, it's also extra stuff like matching 401(k) contributions. No paycheck = no contribution, and no contribution = no matching contribution. A bad situation overall.