I think it's great that you have found your version of success. I'm not sure I would say there are "a great many people" behind your cause, but if it works then I think that's fantastic.

But realistically, I'm not talking "earning potential", I'm talking about "spending your twenties making $10/hour as a graduate student and shafting yourself come retirement." Nobody becomes an academic to get rich, but I worry about the mid-life financial health of today's postdocs versus that of their mentors' at the same age.