7 Reasons to Hate Your Code

I found this post to be a good, alternate way to look at the code we write.
However (as is stated in the author's update) it is not meant to imply that shoddy code should be written if it yields more features and faster releases.  In some systems (where the life expectancy is short) this might be acceptable.  But for long-lived systems (such as large enterprise applications), which have to be maintained for a significant period of time, the cost of maintaining code shoddy code, that is difficult to debug and extend, can be staggering.  This can easily outweigh any advantages gained in terms of features and "time to market".  So I don't believe there is a "one size fits all" approach.

Also, with today's tooling (IDEs with formatting, refactoring, etc.), is takes little or no effort to create well formatted, readable code that enhances maintainability.  You don't have to gild the lilly, but there is no excuse for slapdash work either.

So in my opinion, professional developers should be able to produce code with good craftsmanship in an efficient and cost effective manner.  This is true in most trades where the quality of workmanship is always balances against cost and schedule.