The problem is, even if you try to contribute negative LOC, every other week your boss/customer/PM sees a new feature in their dreams or hears about a new technology at a conference and demands you put it in there right now.

Every system that I've built so far has started out with a simple, obvious set of rules (both new systems and replacements for old systems). Then the customer/PM/whatever notices just one more edge case. And another. And another. And another. The truth is that reality is frustratingly complicated. Especially if the reality you're mapping contains the internal bureaucracies of large companies.

Actually, that's a well know mantra: the best code is no code.

People don't know what that means though. It is only helpful after explaining to shoot for deeper yet simpler rules for your system along with identifying what can be separated from execution as static data.

Part of that mantra also falls under problem solving in general. Not every solution needs a technology solution. Sometimes fixes can be made in processes or policy in general. Many jump to technology solutions too quickly and I feel this is lazy and often passing responsibility for someone else to fix a situation.

Yep, I can see how beginners or god-level guru could turn that into a thousand characters one-liner.

no code is also the fastest thing you can do!

Yes. Deleting code is my favorite type of programming.