“We are the 99 percent!”

This is the cry of the Occupy Wall Street protestors.  They shout at the wealthy corporate class who reside in towering steel buildings, demanding that something must be done about the growing financial divisions within America.

The Occupy Wall Street movement is right to say that the economic situation in America is not fair. My generation strives to go to college, following in the footsteps of our elders.

But our elders lived in a time when if you had a college degree, you had a job. Today, if you have a college degree, it’s likely that you also have a gargantuan pile of debt before you’re even employed.

I sympathize with these protestors, because their current unemployment could easily be my future.

However, a major weakness in the movement is that the solutions being offered are few and don’t appear to be feasible. An example of one of these solutions is to have the rich corporations pay off student loans in an effort to make financial burdens fair.

But capitalism has never been fair. Most people have ambitions and work hard to achieve them, but only a select few gain the financial reward.

While it feels nice to believe that hard work and determination pay off, this isn’t always the case. These qualities increase chances of success but by no means promise it.

Forcing the rich to give handouts to those less fortunate is one way to solve the problem of capitalistic inequality, but then the nation would be operating under a more socialistic system. The government-regulated equality present in socialism sounds ideal and nicely complements Christian values of giving to the poor. But reality crushes all things ideal.

The problem with socialism is that humans have an innate need for a sense of purpose.  Socialism kills this purpose, destroying the human spirit. The government controls the people, instead of the people controlling the government.

Meanwhile, capitalism operates entirely under incentive and allows the individual freedom to choose what to do with his or her finances.

Besides, if the Occupy Wall Street protestors are looking for fairness, socialism is not the answer. How would it be fair if a McDonald’s employee could afford the same things as a brain surgeon?

The conclusion we come to is that nothing is completely just, and it seems that everyone, not just the Wallstreet protestors, are at a loss for a solution.

Yet despite the significant problems with capitalism, I would rather be poor and have a sense of purpose than be equal and have no sense at all.

Scott Novak is an Opinion Editor for The Patriot and jcpatriot.com.