Why can't people be smarter?
Out of a combination of greed and ignorance, some people put their entire retirement accounts in their own company's stock, only to see their investment dwindle to practically nothing, and now they're clamoring for help. But proposals to cap retirement fund holdings in company stock might have the unintended consequence of raising costs enough to convince some employers to reduce company contributions or withdraw their 401(k) plans altogether. It's also a matter of personal choice. There are many companies whose employees have done very well over-investing in company stock. Even Ted Kennedy has conceded "There are some realities that we have to deal with in terms of people's personal desires to make independent decisions." So it looks like all the greedy dummies are going to get is advice to diversify their portfolios instead of caps on their investments, even though research suggests that most people just won't do it.