Education Quote by John Spratt

The move here is classic budget jujitsu: concede the small numbers to expose the big one. Spratt name-checks the politically beloved trio - education, health care, the environment - then pins their growth to a modest, almost boring 2 to 3 percent. That specificity is doing more than informing; it’s inoculating. By anchoring the audience in incremental change, he frames calls to "rein it in" as theatrics aimed at the wrong target.

The phrase "He says" matters. Spratt isn’t debating an abstract fiscal philosophy; he’s sketching an opponent who performs restraint as a brand while quietly refusing to look at the line item that actually explodes the ledger. The subtext: austerity is selective. It’s easier to posture about trimming social investments than to confront the politically dangerous spikes - defense outlays, entitlement growth, debt service, or whatever category Spratt is pointing toward in the moment. He leaves it unnamed here, which is tactical: listeners can plug in the sacred cow of their choice, and the accusation still lands.

Contextually, this is late-era Washington budget combat, where "spending" gets weaponized as a moral failing and the definition of waste conveniently tracks partisan priorities. Spratt’s intent is to reassign the burden of proof: if you’re serious about deficits, stop auditing the parts of government that touch voters’ lives and start explaining why the real driver gets a pass. The line is less a defense of big government than a demand for honest arithmetic.