If you know anyone over the age of 60 who has a retirement plan other than social security, you know someone who is affected by stocks. If the market stays down for a long time, many elderly people will not have enough money to live out their retirement. This will certainly impact millions of Americans. If you think it’s a small problem, you haven’t thought it through very well.

Also, the crash itself doesn’t make anyone’s life any better. We didn’t need the crash. We didn’t need the crash before. We needed to do things to make life better for the average American, and especially for poorer americans, and we still need that. Crashes don’t make that happen, and it’s wishful thinking to suggest that they will.