> Many of the Java monitoring is only critical because of the garbage collection issues with large heaps.

That's not true. All JVM libraries expose a ton of monitoring information through the standard JMX interface at every level of the stack, from deep inside the JVM, through logging framework, DB drivers, schedulers etc., and all the way through the application.

And I can only guess that you've yet to encounter Go's even worse GC problems with large heaps.

> Java unfortunately has a mountain of legacy cruft which makes it a pretty terrible choice for new hires to ramp up on.

True, but only in legacy codebases. A new Java project is as pristine as a new Go project, and new Java libraries are just as lean (because there's a lot of cross-influence between the two environments).