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.