And it's not overwhelmingly inflationary in the context of an economy operating below full capacity and subject to strong deflationary pressures, as you well know -- again, if we're talking about productive assets.  Some inflation down the road, of course, but that's not an altogether bad thing.  It's part of the point.

Now, should taxes rise on the wealthy?  Yes.  But if you simply raise taxes by the amount of the stimulus, it's not a stimulus.  The net effect is zero or near-zero.  More progressive taxation is a general policy goal.  It doesn't have much to do with the ins and outs of a stimulus package.  It's more of a "Hey, while we're at it, let's rebalance the tax burden while we have political capital" kind of thing.

Operating under normal conditions or in the case of a mild recession, I'd agree with your view that fiscal prudence should be the priority.  Maybe loosen a bit, but leave most of the heavy lifting to the central bank.  That's not what this is, though.

Conservatives want live babies so they can raise them to be dead soldiers. - George Carlin