However, what you can say is that the borrow-checker works like a straight-jacket for the programmer, making them less capable to focus on other things like performance issues, high-level data leaks (e.g. a map that is filled with values without removing them eventually), or high-level safety issues.
I agree that not everyone thinks this is true, but this is my experience. I do not relate to the compiler as a straight jacket. I relate to it as a helpful assistant.
By the same token, it is common to see criticisms of the complexity of templates in C++, but templates are the cornerstone of “Modern C++” and many libraries could not exist without them.
But a GC'd language doesn't require the extra verbosity.
It certainly has a price but it is waaay too overblown in many discussions. What it mostly does entail is a slightly larger p99 latency. Where it actually matters is entirely another question.
"As a developer tool" is doing some work in that sentence though. As a language implementation characteristic, the checker can help inform (or, more accurately, ensures that code is written in a way that informs) memory management decisions.