Having had this discussion with a lot of folks that I have a ton of respect for, I will say that there are a few different camps and folks are they are pretty well entrenched in them.
The "second bot" debate is actually very similar to industry. I work in Defense, and we often have a date when we ship our vehicles to USG for testing... even the prototypes. Some companies choose to make a duplicate that they can continue development and learn from. Some companies don't. They have the same debate about resources and efforts and...
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It is a healthy debate to have as long as both parties understand that people have different values and different value systems. This is the crux of a lot of debates with the program. Some teams are focused on program excellence and strive for excellence in the area they choose. Think of this as being similar to the Olympic athelete that devotes all their spare time to skiing down a hill or skating the perfect routine, or running a particular distance really fast.
If you have ever devoted yourself to "a" goal with all your heart, sole, and being for an extended period of time, you may understand the benefits and/or the losses associated with such a strong single minded effort. You learn a lot about your limits. You learn a lot about the details that make a difference. You learn a lot about what it takes to succeed at an effort.
This video does an excellent job of expressing "the desire for excellence":
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ok8OHYQdDDI
From the outside, witnessing the performance, you may find an Olympians performance admirable and maybe even inspirational. I would garauntee you that every person that has dug that deep has had a fight with someone that doesn't understand the time being invested, doesn't understand the money invested, doesn't the hardship, the late nights, the blood, seat, and tears involved. Many don't understand.
Some do understand what is involved. They may haev even gone through the process, and found that the sacrifice was not worth the efforts. This is a real result of chasing the passion for excellence. Divorces, loss of friends (cause you never there), grades slip, personal injuries that cause a person to live the rest of their life in pain (physical or emotional).
These hardships though are not universal, and for many that experience them, often it was a worthwhile exchange.
I bring these up, because it comes down to values. It is not my place to tell someone else what their values should be. It isn't your place to tell me what my values should be.
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I do think there is a lot of value to the stop build day. I do, personally, believe that FIRST would/should allow for some development windows outside the stop build day. I would love to see 6-8 hrs/week unbag time, and do away with the "with-holding allowance". The folks chasing perforamnce excellence will still likely build a second bot. Most will utilize it to make development improvements. Some will not utilize that timeframe at all. This would most accurrately align with my values, and I think it would help teams learn about the importance of development.
With the Current FRC system, I think the "with-holding" allowance is a poor substittue to development comapred to controlled windows of access to the "competition robot". You have virtually un-limited time with a frustrating chunk of the system.
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MrForbes shows a lot of wisodm when he says "We stopped working. You can too, if you want to." He seems to have a ton of dedication to his team, FIRST, and the effort involved in making a competitive robot. He also shows his team values balance of other activities.
It is perfectly fine to go skiing without going for the gold. You can smell the fresh air. See some interesting sites, and enjoy the exhileration of speed.