It’s clear it’s imperfect. But not clear there is an obvious path to a nearby local maxima.
Design choices have tradeoffs.
And even if that were true, who would take advantage of that “better” language in a purely abstract sense? New language standards primarily exist to benefit existing C++ code bases, and the cohort of engineers who work on them. You have to consider that social reality.
I don't demand that C++ evolution be halted. I support the current trajectory of not adding viral annotations for the sake of implementing static lifetime checking. I want C++ to evolve into a better version of itself, I don't want it to become something it's not. If you want static lifetime checking, please use Rust. It already exists and it's great for people who need static lifetime checking.
So why not be honest and just use C++01, or 11, or whatever it is that works for you, and let the rest of the ecosystem actually evolve and keep the language we invested so much effort into as a viable alternative? There's zero benefit, except to MS who want to sell this year's Visual Studio to all the companies with 80's-era C++...