The prevailing greeting at that time, on every block you passed, by some poor guy coming up, was: “can you spare a dime? ” or: “can you spare something for a cup of coffee? ” . . “brother, can you spare a dime? ” finally hit on every block, on every street. i thought that could be a beautiful title. if i could only work it out by telling people, through the song, it isn’t just a man asking for a dime.

this is the man who says: i built the railroads. i built that tower. i fought your wars. i was the kid with the drum. why the hell should i be standing in line now? what happened to all this wealth i created?

why does harburg feel that “brother, can you spare a dime? ” is a legitimate question, not just a plea from a beggar?
with their hard work, these individuals had invested in their country and they deserved to be suitably rewarded.
manual labor jobs were replaced by white-collar jobs, so construction workers had no more options.
a dime was only a small amount of money that could feed an entire family for many days.
all of the wealthy had retained their riches, while the poor had to suffer through the depression.