[naasking]

> I may be splitting hairs here but I want to make the distinction that at no point was an engineer making poor choices.

Financial debt can be both good and bad. Good financial debt lets you take advantage of opportunities now that you wouldn't otherwise be able to afford, and you end up better off in the end. Bad financial debt leaves you worse off in the end. Taking on financial debt absolutely can be a poor choice.

I don't see why these same qualities can't show up in technical debt as well. So sometimes engineers might be making poor choices, the point is to evaluate whether the debt is taken on to exploit an opportunity, evaluate whether you'll be better off for taking on that debt, and to ensure you pay it back in a timely manner.