Totally agree with that, but I don't think regret is warranted. The power of "technical debt" is that it was actually catchy enough to get a foothold with the MBAs and pointy hairs. That alone is a victory. Any sufficiently good idea with a catchy meme is subject to cargo culting and abuse. We need look no further than The Agile Manifesto to see how thoroughly any well-summarized wisdom, drawn from a well of deep expertise, lovingly word-smithed with the utmost clarity, can be abused and twisted into a hideous monstrosity that is, in fact, the complete opposite of the original intent.