[Verse 1] Back in nineteen forty-eight, the future looked so bright Workers shared in growing wealth, the middle class took flight But something changed along the way, institutions lost their power Unions weakened, rules got loose, prosperity turned sour [Chorus] Institutional decline leads to wage structure pain When the guardrails fall apart, inequality's the gain From the golden age of shared growth to the squeeze we feel today Three solutions hold the key to get back on our way [Verse 2] Minimum wage stayed frozen while the cost of living rose Collective bargaining faded as the factory door closed Executive pay shot through the roof while workers' paychecks stalled The ladder up got harder when the middle rungs were mauled [Chorus] Institutional decline leads to wage structure pain When the guardrails fall apart, inequality's the gain From the golden age of shared growth to the squeeze we feel today Three solutions hold the key to get back on our way [Bridge] First solution: raise the floor, minimum wage up high But small business might struggle and some jobs could say goodbye Second choice: strengthen unions, give workers bargaining might Though companies might resist it, it could make the balance right [Verse 3] Third intervention: job programs, government creates work Infrastructure, clean energy, where public good can lurk Each policy has tradeoffs, no perfect path exists But doing nothing guarantees inequality persists [Chorus] Institutional decline leads to wage structure pain When the guardrails fall apart, inequality's the gain From the golden age of shared growth to the squeeze we feel today Three solutions hold the key to get back on our way [Outro] The causal map is crystal clear, from structure down to wage From nineteen forty-eight till now, we've turned a painful page But policy can change the tide, broad-based growth can return If we strengthen institutions and from history we learn
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