I'm not a "design-guy" who thinks design guys are not well treated. If you'll notice in the analogy you actually quoted I compared good design to a cover letter. (It's not perfect, but what is?) Obviously if the product (aka the resume) is no good, the best cover letter in the world will not matter. And conversely, if you're product is good enough, you will be able to get away with bad/no design consideration.
I'm not saying the cover letter is not important. I'd like to have a cover letter whenever possible. I'm saying it's the first place to cut costs. If you only have a few sheets left in the printer, the cover letter is the first thing to go. That's all I'm saying. Design is good to have, but should be one of the first things to cut during hard times. It's going to hurt sales. It will feel like shooting oneself in the foot. Sure it's absence will make hard times harder. If it didn't serve a function in the money-making process, it wouldn't be there in the first place. But there are other parts that are even more important.
If a business is in starvation mode, design as it relates to ads and packaging should be one of the first parts to go.
-Wade