[wyum]

I agree and wanted to make a similar point. This is a false dilemma.

It seems to me that every feature has a debt component (cost of maintenance) and an asset component (value to customers and business). Evaluating those together, one can determine whether a feature is a net asset or net debt/liability. In this frame, there _can_ be "neutral" features, where the feature debt and asset entries sum to zero.

If all features were simply debt, it would be hard to imagine how there could be any sustainable software companies.