Ask HN: Should Everyone Have Access to VC, PE, and Hedge Funds?

In other words, should everyone have access to investing in Venture Capital Funds, Private Equity Funds, and Hedge Funds? Right now Rule 501, Regulation D, requires that only "accredited" investors be able to invest in a private partnership such as those mentioned above. Current requirements for individuals seeking investment into these firms: - Any natural person whose individual net worth, or joint net worth with that person's spouse, exceeds $1,000,000 (excluding residential equity) - Any natural person who had an individual income in excess of $200,000 in each of the two most recent years or joint income with that person's spouse in excess of $300,000 in each of those years and has a reasonable expectation of reaching the same income level in the current year - Any relative, spouse or relative of the spouse of a purchaser who has the same primary residence as the purchaser Exceptions can be made for certain friends/family of fund, but that requires connections, which would preclude a subset of the population from taking part. Lastly, ignore the expected returns and the money tie up period. As the poorest can "invest" in the lottery, expected returns are irrelevant to the question. Additionally, assume the people who can stomach the multi-year tie up are the ones that will invest, the ones that cannot stomach it, will abstain. The question boils down to this: should everyone have access to invest in these places, regardless of their ability to do so?