Regarding the OP,
The best advice given was, if laid off, to find a job understanding that you'll make significantly less. OP is absolutely correct that the job market is saturated with professionals, driving the wages offered down.
The rest of the advice is bold, but extremely risky and not for the vast majority of folks who were recently laid off. Starting a business, whether small or large in scope is a huge responsibility and one that requires lots of cash and leaves a lot of room for risk/failure. Think about it. The last thing you do in a bear market is start aggressively buying everything or start selling everything in a panic. You slow down, do some very objective homework on your next step. Be honest with yourself about your finances. Putting all your chips in on a small business is just that, a huge gamble. Tread carefully into those waters and do NOT deplete your savings on a long shot, hail mary idea. Chances are your family depends on you to keep the lights on. Ensure you don't screw that up because you think you have something to prove after being let go. Tamp down the emotions and make it a goal to clear your mind of any remaining baggage.
About not trusting your superiors:
If you can't trust your team, even managers, there's a good chance the business unit will fail regardless. Give your best and be genuine. The more genuine, professional behavior exhibited, the more likely the group will be cohesive, transparent and successful. The more covert and protective each person is, the more time and energy is wasted. Don't fall for the narrative that all the bosses are bad. Most employees and managers are decent people that are doing their best to improve. It may just feel like there's a conspiracy because we tend to feel as if bad things gravitate only to ourselves. This happens to all of us. Company executives, mid-level managers, supervisors, technicians, accountants, IT professionals and on and on.
In the end, it's incredibly important to position your finances in a way to absorb the blow of being laid off, if it happens. Live well within your means and save to hedge against bad events. You'll have peace of mind knowing that regardless of your employment situation, you will be ok. When you have that, you won't walk the halls looking over your shoulder in fear. You'll be in the very minuscule minority of people who actually took control of their lives and didn't live in hope and fear.