Hard for me to comment definitively here since I don't have the other side of the story, but I will say that I have seen teams operating based on all kinds of assumed constraints where we lose sight of the ultimate objective of building systems that serve human needs. I've definintely seen cases where the true cost of technical debt is over-represented due to a lack of trust between between business stakeholders and engineering, and those kind of scenarios could definintely lead to this kind of rote engineering policy detached from reality. Without knowledge of your specific company and team I can't offer any more specific advice other than to say that I think your viewpoint of the big picture sounds reasonable and would resonate in a healthy software company with competent leadership. Your current company may not be that, but rest assured that such companies do exist! Never lose that common sense grounding, as that way madness lies. Good luck in finding a place where your experience and pragmatism is valued and recognized!