[Verse 1] Nineteen forty-eight, the golden age begins G.I. Bill opens doors, education wins Strong unions rise up, wages start to grow Middle class expanding, prosperity's flow [Chorus] Compression mechanisms, five ways to share Unions, education, minimum wage care Immigration limits, progressive tax rate Golden years of growth, equality's fate Remember these five, they compressed the gap Broad-based prosperity on America's map [Verse 2] Korean War spending, economy takes flight Interstate highways built, infrastructure's might Social Security grows, safety net's strong Suburbia blooms, where families belong [Chorus] Compression mechanisms, five ways to share Unions, education, minimum wage care Immigration limits, progressive tax rate Golden years of growth, equality's fate Remember these five, they compressed the gap Broad-based prosperity on America's map [Verse 3] Civil Rights Movement, doors begin to open Great Society programs, LBJ has spoken Medicare and Medicaid, health care for all But by nineteen seventy-three, we hit the wall [Bridge] Oil crisis hits hard, stagflation's here Manufacturing declines, changes we fear Union membership falls, wages start to stall The golden age fading, can we hear the call? [Verse 4] Globalization comes, jobs move overseas Technology changes, automation's breeze Tax cuts for the wealthy, rates begin to fall Income inequality rises above us all [Chorus] Compression mechanisms, five ways to share Unions, education, minimum wage care Immigration limits, progressive tax rate Golden years are gone, what will be our fate? Remember these five, they once closed the gap Can we bring back broad prosperity's map? [Outro] From forty-eight to now, the story's been told Prosperity shared, then wealth for few to hold Learn from the past, mechanisms that worked Compression's the key, let equality be served
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