I think technical debt is often the wrong metaphor. Instead, it's more like "deferred maintenance." For example, no one complains that they can't spend all their time in their car driving it, and that they have to stop for gas every couple of days. We do have cars where you can bring them home and put energy in them for tomorrow, but most people make a different choice, for a variety of reasons that may or may not be valid. Working up the severity ladder, you can drive with your check engine light on or on bald tires, and that can get you to work so you can earn money you could choose to use to fix the engine or buy new tires. But most managers tend to choose to keep going with the check engine light on, because it's not visible from their desk.

And then there are the ones who say something akin to "what idiot decided to buy a Saturn, when they don't sell parts for that defunct brand anymore," when libraries fall out of support and maybe that gets bad enough you need to buy a new car because it's not worth it to fix the old one.