@resjudicata Assuming the debt is financing an asset, it implies the value of your asset is increasing, which makes you wealthier.
Generally the longer you hold an appreciating asset, the better off you will be. Case in point, people who bought a house 30 years ago.
As an aside, while your wage may not have gone up in line with inflation recently, it will usually average out over time. There will be periods where inflation is low and wage growth is higher such that over a long period of time wages will generally track inflation.
So as I said, the trick is to load up on debt and ride out these tough periods where your wage isn't keeping up in order to be rewarded long term and trust that on average your wage will track inflation over time.