taxation?

once on the campus of Columbia, I overheard two girls talking about the taxation system and one of them said, "why tax only the wealthy, is it a crime to be rich?" when Democrats speak, they say that they want what is best for the middle class? something has to be lost in the translation here. I completed Barack Obama's 2nd book and he mentions how in his conversations with Warren Buffet that people who are rewarded by tax cuts for the wealthy are those who reap the benefits from dividends of investments? nobody wants hard work to go unpunished. there has to be a much better way to make tax cuts sound more appealing for everyone