[Verse 1]
After World War Two, the nation felt so bright
Factories were humming, paychecks looking right
From nineteen forty-eight through the sixties' end
Middle class was growing, prosperity to lend
But something started shifting in the decade's turn
When wages stopped their climbing, families felt the burn
[Chorus]
What matters most to measure how we're doing?
Is it wages, wealth, stability, or moving?
When did the break happen, tell me when?
Was it seventies, eighties, nineties then?
These are the questions we need to explore
To understand what happened to the middle-class floor
[Verse 2]
Wages are the paychecks that we bring home each week
Wealth is what we've saved up, the security we seek
Stability means keeping jobs that last for many years
Mobility's the chances to advance despite our fears
Each one tells a different story of the American dream
But which one shows us clearest when things aren't what they seem?
[Chorus]
What matters most to measure how we're doing?
Is it wages, wealth, stability, or moving?
When did the break happen, tell me when?
Was it seventies, eighties, nineties then?
These are the questions we need to explore
To understand what happened to the middle-class floor
[Bridge]
Early seventies brought the oil crisis shock
Nineteen-eighties saw the unions lose their block
The nineties brought technology and global trade
Each decade has a case for when the shift was made
[Verse 3]
Some say it started early when the seventies began
Others point to Reagan and his economic plan
The nineties brought computers and jobs moved overseas
But looking at the data, which timeline do you see?
The answer that you choose will shape the story told
Of how prosperity slipped away from young and old
[Final Chorus]
What matters most to measure how we're doing?
Is it wages, wealth, stability, or moving?
When did the break happen, tell me when?
Was it seventies, eighties, nineties then?
These are the questions historians debate
To understand the middle class and America's fate
[Outro]
From broad prosperity to growing divide
These key questions help us see both sides