The only thing that's new is that the debt keeps getting higher during growth stage. Previously the idea was we loosen the policy and borrow some money when the economy is slow and we tighten when things are moving better again. But there is no proof that the austerity actually is a good thing for the country or the economy - after a sovereign debt, especially in the case of US which is still denominated in USD is a bit of a fictional concept - an act of law could abolish it, for example. Also the interest rates are still so low that it kind of does make sense to keep expanding the balance sheet further as it's easy to service such low rated debt.