Word of warning, from experience: don't ever think you're too low on the ladder to avoid politics or the implications thereof. I've seen plenty of "individual contributors" and "front line managers" become collateral damage in some bullshit company politics game. The worst part is that there was nothing they could've done to avoid it, other than either climbing the ladder to engage in the game and hope for the best, or simply leaving for greener pastures before the pendulum knocked them out. Unfortunately, if you're not paying attention to the politics in the first place, there's a good chance you won't see it coming.

Otherwise, I totally agree with your statement here. Especially considering that your employer is not likely to be up-front with you when business gets bad (at least, not right away), you can wind up with the "corporate blinders" on and not notice the signs around you that your stock is about to tank. I've only worked for three different companies at this point in my career, but the quarterly "business group communications meetings" always felt much more like pep rallies than real status updates, meant primarily to boost morale rather than to inform. In this day and age, to place trust or loyalty in your employer is to misplace it, as employers are highly unlikely to place either of those things in their employees.

What I'm trying to say is: your logic here is sound, and your strategy is a good one, but be careful about ignoring corporate politics.