To have "power creep" you would have to have a balanced baseline to begin with. I don't think that's true with D&D (any edition) because it isn't designed with strict balance in mind. It is designed with a certain kind of fun in mind that doesn't depend on precise balance. The right player can take the core PHB and create a character that puts any Tasha's built PC to shame.
The bigger issue, I think, is when they start adding options farther and farther outside the "norm" because they are trying to fill a book but have used up all the archetypes and races that fit the baseline assumptions. When those "weird" options get added they tend to overshadow the core, not because they are necessarily more powerful but because they are "special." You can make a race with inherent flight that is objectively weaker than a core race and it will still create problems in some games.
The solution for this is something even worse than nerfing things that many players can't countenance: the GM curating available options.
T
The bigger issue, I think, is when they start adding options farther and farther outside the "norm" because they are trying to fill a book but have used up all the archetypes and races that fit the baseline assumptions. When those "weird" options get added they tend to overshadow the core, not because they are necessarily more powerful but because they are "special." You can make a race with inherent flight that is objectively weaker than a core race and it will still create problems in some games.
The solution for this is something even worse than nerfing things that many players can't countenance: the GM curating available options.
T