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.