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My experience is the opposite.

The simplest solution is harder and takes longer.

I think easiest or quickest is what is really meant in this formulation, but rarely do either of these result in simplest. I start with the former and strive to iterate towards the latter, because the former starts cheaper but ends up more expensive in the long run.

Simplification is an optimization.

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Perhaps, but businesses are not run on the basis of the long run (unless you are in R&D mode for 10 years), they are one short run after the next.

I've found this not to be the case. If you write custom applications and they are solid, when it comes time to add a new feature, you can do it quickly and keep the customer happy. If you are riddled with technical debt, the cost of adding a small feature approaches the cost of having a competitor rewrite the whole application.

I'm not advocating taking on technical debt, just arguing that sometimes the anti technical debt crusade turns into premature optimization and unnecessary concept creep.

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