I know this comes many years after this article was written but it so chimes with my thinking, and it is fantastic to see my own thoughts reflected (or is that vindicateaged) in this article! I suppose your "Leakage" example proves it, but begs the obvious question that "to lever" IS a verb - why the heck don't people use it? As for the rest of Seth's quote, this applies in spades to the section of a phrase "..apologises for any inconvenience caused." which is an all-purpose "I couldn't really give a ... I've just been told to stick up this notice!"
Hope you still read this!