From the middle-class family perspective, much of this, understandably, looks far less like an opportunity to exercise more financial responsibility, and a good deal more like a frightening acceleration of the wholesale shift of financial risk onto their already overburdened shoulders.

是的，网友理解正确。a good deal = a great deal = much = a lot = by far = far，这些都用作程度副词，用在比较级之前，表示“程度大”。