Good God – what a ridiculous joke. So many places to start. First, if you go to Penn, you are the 1% that these people do not appreciate (Ms. Graber and Ms. Chandra also sound exceptionally naive). Second, most of the protestors are so ill-informed it is laughable. Ignoring their complete lack of understanding of anything pertaining to the financial crisis, the protestors fail to comprehend that the unemployment rate and growing difficulties for poorer Americans are more directly tied to Obama’s policies and the uncertainty his policies inject into the economy than anything related to Wall Street or “greedy” and evil corporations. Ironically, most of these clowns voted for Obama. They’ve gotten what they’ve deserve. Third, anyone who compares these pathetic protests to the Arab Spring is an imbecile (granted it’s not mentioned in this article). To compare the livelihoods and freedoms of even the bottom 1% of Americans to the experience of everyday citizens in Egypt, Syria, Libya, etc. is insulting and demonstrates a complete lack of perspective. Finally, the protestors’ idea of “fairness” is my idea of theft. Every hard-earned dollar the government takes from one citizen and gives to another (instead of using the money on public goods) is an act of THEFT. Money doesn’t appear out of thin air, as these protestors seem to think. Many of the people they decry worked exceptionally hard and strategically throughout all stages of their lives and they deserve to reap outsized rewards for the efforts. And for those protestors whining about the Wall Street bailouts, every Wall Street institution has paid the government back with substantial interest. Don’t complain that the bank is taking your house, in accordance with the provisions in the mortgage you voluntarily signed.

While exceptions exist, capitalism is great because you almost always get what you deserve. Maybe if these clowns spent a little more effort brainstorming small business ideas (hemp necklaces?, Che Guevara imprinted bongs?) or developing a unique and valuable skill set (and I don’t mean taking out student loans to study English or art) instead of wasting their time protesting, they would find the current capitalist system more accommodating. Their sense of entitlement is disgusting and insulting to the principles that have made America great.

It would be nice to have a dialogue about these issues without calling those who disagree with you “clowns” and “naive” and “imbecile.” Perhaps you are the kind of person they are protesting against: one who fails to understand the democratic tradition in America where we don’t just do things to makes our selves rich, but we try to bring the entire society along to a better place. That means, among other things, that not everyone should be a business major: we need English and art and anthropology and history majors to give us the perspectives from other times and places and cultures.

What has made America great, again and again, is the continued hope that each individual can make a difference, especially when bonded with other concerned citizens. One threat to this citizen-based power is large and greedy corporations who refuse to turn their recent good fortunes (record profits, bailouts from the government) back into “the greater good.” That, I believe, is what these protests are about.

Everyone seems frustrated, angry, and powerless at:

1. the corruption some corporations and those who run them exhibit.

2. the unproductive ways we all argue with each other trying to convince others are wrong and we are right.

3. the inability to manage our emotions, really listen to others or work towards collaborative solutions.

Here’s an idea! Start acting like thoughtful adults, start treating each other how we’d like to be treated, learn to compromise and acknowledge people and situations for who and how they are rather than screaming about how you think they should be .. then maybe we’ll start making a little progress.

I believe the protests are about what type of values we wish to lift up as a society. Clearly, we have gone astray and there is frustration on all fronts, but we must remain civil and look to build what we are for not merely demonize what we are against. If capitalism reportedly provides that “you almost always get what you deserve”, then perhaps it is time we instead look to God’s grace in moving forward. Grace of course is not something that we deserve, but that is given freely out of God’s love for us. What a world we would live in if we showed our love for God and each other the way God shows love for us. And yup…dialogue, respect, diversity and a desire for the common good is a pretty good starting point.

It’s perfectly fine if you want to be a liberal arts major, just don’t ask me to pay your rent or buy your groceries because you can’t find a job. The U.S. provides a number of freedoms, one of them being freedom of choice. You’re free to choose and do as you please, but choices have consequences. People need to take personal responsibility for these choices and own up to the consequences. They shouldn’t rely on the ever-growing nanny state to coddle them.

Dear Mr. Cake: Are you a Penn student? Did you have to take a variety of required courses (art, English, history) that were supposed to make you an educated and thoughtful person rather than just a business person? Those courses are taught by faculty who are not entrepreneurs: should Penn get rid of all its courses except those in Wharton? What kinds of citizens do you think we would produce then? Do you want your children in middle school or high school taught by marketing majors? We make these decisions as a culture, to value more than money and to value multiple perspectives. What kind of culture do you want?

I don’t pay a great deal of attention to fuzzy ideas that Wall Street is a corrupting influence in an otherwise Arcadian world we don’t actually live in. But my wife- who is from mainland China and was a medical student during the calamitous years of the Cultural Revolution- thinks these protests are wonderful. Wonderful that a bunch of young kids can freely make outlandish and subversive speeches about bedrock institutions of our capitalist system without having to worry about getting in trouble. Other than a vague notion that someone ought to stop something bad that might be going on in Wall Street- as if Madoff didn’t actually get a 150 year sentence- these protests are harmless and not particularly meaningful. It’s the other stuff- the First Amendment in action- that is inspiring.

‎“The bailout of Wall Street, to any normal person who is outside the system, just looks ridiculously unfair. It looks like socialism for capitalists and capitalism for everybody else. So it’s no wonder people are marching in southern Manhattan.” Michael Lewis in “Boomerang”

Let Them Eat Cake: The arrogance and lack of empathy in the above comment is disappointing.

Firstly, there are plenty of students here at Penn on significant amounts of financial aid. Labelling all the protesters as pot-smoking art majors (and please tell me what in the world is inherently wrong with being an art or English major) who will never contribute to society is incredibly arrogant and ignorant. Second, even those who come from a privileged background who plan to go into business can recognize that there is something direly wrong with the current US financial system, both in terms of government regulation and the behaviour of financial institutions. And I challenge anyone to argue that there isn’t. You can blame it on bad government policy leading to a housing bubble, or on reckless, short-term risk-taking by self-interested Wall Street bankers (and judging by the number of former Wall Street CEOs who are now working in high positions of government, the two aren’t exactly separate entities) but I think the point is that poor Americans are frustrated because they are feeling the repercussions of something in which they had no say. When they voluntarily signed that mortgage agreement, they weren’t told that they would end up owing more on that mortgage than the house is worth.

The frustration of the American public is completely understandable and I am glad that there are students at Penn who care. Maybe Occupy Wall Street hasn’t accomplished anything yet, but to argue that the current version of capitalism here in the US is fine is also completely ridiculous.

There is nothing wrong with studying any subject, be it engineering, finance, or poetry. However, individuals need to understand that assuming $50-100K of debt to study a subject with limited job prospects following graduation is risky and perhaps unwise (many of the protestors complain about their student loan burdens). If individuals make the choice to pursue these areas and interests, they should not ask for handouts from those that have chosen more lucrative, albeit less socially valuable, careers. I admire people who pursue their interests and passions over money, but I certainly have no interest in supporting them financially because of their decisions.

What are these protests about? Why is the participation of a few Penn students newsworthy? Is this Philadelphia protest anything more than a flash mob?

If you don’t like corporations then you must oppose President Obama, he has received more money from Wall Street than any other president in history, and he has installed more well connected (with the government) corporate and wall street honchos than any other president.

The current version of American capitalism is the same one that has been around since Alexander Hamilton made sure that colonial script was guaranteed by the brand new Federal Government. That created a lot of wealth for speculators who had hammered down the price for this script from impoverished Revolutionary War veterans. This is simply a downturn. A particularly bad one, since the bubble was propped up by some unwise moves in Washington. It has nothing to do with corruption, or “lack of transparency” (whatever that means) or the “power of the rich” over the supine poor. People who had a chance to buy an expensive house that is no longer worth what they paid for it (or even covers the mortgage) have not been cheated. The market has turned. This makes great press, a lot of noise, and maybe that makes people feel better. But it’s not going to change a thing.

Hey, sorry everybody, disregard everything I said here. I’m just another brainwashed clown who thinks that if I wish hard enough and defend my oppressors enough eventually they will let me sit at their top 1% table.

So, once again, apologies. Just ignore me. I am meaningless to this movement.

Dear Mr Cake, You may have noticed with 10% unemployment , it is just not art and literature majors who are not able to find jobs. you may be stunned to learn that Vets returning from war can’t find jobs and are becoming homeless at alarming rates, (some female Vets with kids- if that matters to you) You may wish to know that people 55 and over, who have worked all their lives and are too young to retire, have exhausted their benefits and are now just hopeless. Mr Cake, their are even young families who face foreclosure because they lost their jobs- you may not know about these people, but they exist- and there but for the grace of God go you Mr Cake. So smugness may work for you, but not for the folks who are suffering, and not for the folks who are saying “enough”

Dear Mr Let Them Eat Cake;

Please tell us where you went to school, what type of job you do, and what your credentials are.

Thank you for your time.

Sincerely,

Mrs M, an American Citizen, just like you.

I am the Wharton student who was mentioned in the above article. I just want to say that I was misquoted. I did not say that “bad deals” were the problem; instead, collusion between the government and the financial sector is the problem. This is the point I emphasized over and over during my call with the reporter, and only as a side note did I mention greed or “bad deals.” I am very disappointed with the quality of reporting in the article (which, despite its questionable newsworthiness was on the front page) and the clear bias toward one side of the argument.

Having said that, I would like to lay out my argument about why the efforts of the protesters are misguided.

Almost everyone uses banks for something – for loans, mortgages, cars, savings accounts etc. – as well as indirectly whenever they buy a product from a corporation. It is likely that the product was only able to come to market via a series of calculated financing decisions by the firm. So, an all out vendetta against the financial markets is extremely futile, unless we all want to live as subsistence farmers.

However, there is corruption in the financial system, which stems more from government involvement than anything else. Bankers donate thousands of dollars to every candidate (including Obama) via $40,000/plate dinners and exclusive events. Undoubtedly, they use this to gain favor with the government, which culminated in the bailouts a few years ago. Additionally, many in the financial sector are now in government, adding to the collusion. So, to expect the government to fix this problem through any sort of regulations or programs is like asking a dictator to verify his election.

The best way to get rid of this corruption is to get the government out of the financial system and instead allow the free market to reward and punish firms accordingly. After all, people won’t work with a bank that offers them bad deals.

After all, a government large enough to give you everything you want is a government large enough to take everything away.