It's not technical debt. It's lack of engineering rigor.

Bridges don't get driven on until they're inspected. And they only pass inspection if they were built according to standards, and meet design specifications that have to take safety into account.

How we get there, how we enforce it, is another conversation. The point is that we have to start getting serious and be real engineers. The bare minimum standard should be that you can drive a truck over it without worry. How much software can you confidently say that about?