> there is an impedance mismatch between what you want to do to/with the system today, and what the system actual is today

This is a better conceptualization compared to the idea that tech-debt is the result of shortcuts or rushed code. Tech debt arises for a lot of reasons, including shortcuts but not exclusively because of shortcuts. I've seen tech debt arise because well-meaning engineers were trying to do things "the right way".

I think it is just a kind of entropy thing that we have to fight against. A lot of confounding factors lead to code that is hard to maintain and extend. I think it is an unfair characterization to suggest it is solely because of laziness or negligence.