Read the excerpt from the interview with E.Y. (Yip) Harburg. 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.