Broken Promise

Golden years it was supposed to be,
For tens of millions of retirees;
Contracts were signed so down the line, they’d have security.
You work so hard for every dime,
Pay your dues, put in your time;
Scrimped and saved from what you made to buy some dignity.
You thought it was real,
Written, signed and sealed,
A matter of law, holy sacred deal- deliverance from poverty.

For years the Companies boasted and bragged,
Their pension plans were the best to be had.
Through good times and bad, they’d be ironclad, a written guarantee.
But then the courts and politicians collude;
The game gets fixed, the books get skewed.
Unprotected, ripped off and rejected, the masses get screwed.
As soon as trouble began,
They took the money and ran,
The future ripped right out of your hands, for greed of Wall Street.

Broken promise, shattered dream, a betrayal in the first degree.
Who among us will stand and be against this inhumanity,
Demand and expect – the promise be kept.

In the twilight of retirement age,
Forced to slave for minimum wage,
In a depression, sellin’ your possessions, slippin’ through the cracks.
Your health and home are on the chopping block,
Your savings stolen, you’re deep in hock,
Corporate raiders, posing as saviors, put a knife in your back.
Hard-working women and men,
‘Neath the iron heel again;
It’s a sin, they way these big moneymen get away with such illegal acts ..

Broken promise, shattered dream, a betrayal to the worst degree.
Who among us will stand and be, against this inhumanity,
Broken promise, shattered dreams, a betrayal to the worst degree.
Who among us will stand and speak, against this immorality.
Demand and expect – the promise be kept.