The State of our Union is strong,

He says.

Extreme Inequality is wrong,

He says.

The poor feel like they don’t belong,

He says.

We need a new Seeger song,

He says.

America needs a raise,

He says.

We’ve yet to see our best days,

He says.

We can defeat our malaise,

He says.

The tea party’s a bygone phase,

He says.

But what about CEO Pay?

We say.

And the surveillance-crazed NSA?

We say.

And where will the homeless stay?

We say.

And what will our kids eat today?

We say.

Our safety net works much too hard,

We say.

When the wealthy hold all of the cards,

We say.

The Global Economy’s much too scarred,

We say.

By the fast track you praise to the stars,

We say.

And what about stealth drone attacks?

We say.

And who gets to make up the facts?

We say.

And who has the workers’ backs?

We say.

When you lower the corporate tax?

We say.

We agree with much that you have proposed,

A bit more hopeful than we had supposed.

But to close the huge inequality gap

We need to bring up the bottom and pull down the top

Global fair trade, civil liberties, and rights,

Power back to the people, we won’t give up the fight.