Many people have lost the value of what they had and can't just buy up stocks 'on sale' now. They simply don't have the additional money- it was all already in stock investments and has now plummeted.
And others cannot tie up what liquid savings they have in long term cds and long term investments, etc. They have mortgages to pay and their jobs are hanging on by a thread, their small business orders are dropping off drastically. I have a lot of friends in this situation.
To most people, this is a serious problem, not a minor inconvenience that can be ignored.