I think this is more a problem with the nature of technology in general.

If we want simple and fast, we can do that, but sometimes it doesn't cover the corner cases that the slow and complicated stuff does -- and as you fix those things, the "simple and fast" becomes "complicated and slow".

But, as others have observed about GCC vs LLVM (with LLVM having had a similar life cycle), the added competition forced GCC to step up their game, and both projects have benefited from that competition -- even if, as time goes on, they get more and more similar to what each can do.

I think all our efforts suffer from the effects of the Second Law of Thermodynamics: "You can't win. You can't break even. And it's the only game in town."