This is a fair point, and I would be supportive of carving out an exemption to ensure the ownership value in retirement plans for workers is not wiped out and they’re made whole.
Gee, I don't know, I guess I'm concerned that retired people don't get their major source of living income ripped out from under them just because of an ill-conceived notion that "dividends are only for rich people".
It's important to point out that "shareholders" could include "managed retirement plans", especially when talking about stocks that pay dividends.