I interpreted medymed's comment to mean it's a good time to already be in grad school. If that's the case then you likely don't have a family (for all the reasons you just mentioned). I don't think people are advocating now as a good time to switch from industry to grad school.

Correct, no change, not if you already have a job or the ready prospect of getting a new one. But if you were a regional manager overseeing a dozen restaurants in a now bankrupt chain, your job prospects aren't very good, and retraining a long upward hill battle.

It was never meant to be even close to competitive to a senior-level professional salary. Besides, to be competitive in academia, which is the actual end goal in mind for any student going through a decently ranked PhD program, the target demographic is not someone looking for a career change so late in life, nor would they even be admitted if they had no relevant research experience or potential.

You're absolutely right, but it seemed to me the context of the suggestion was that an economic downturn was a good time to go back to school if you were without a job, and that a good PhD program would pay you while you were in it. I was pointing out that such a thing wasn't an option for many people.