Is raising taxes on the wealthy to pay for government overspending fair?

Obama and the Democrats are proposing tax increases for the wealthy in order to raise revenue. Shouldn’t they be looking to cut as much as virtually possible in government spending (that wouldn’t have a drastic impact on the economy) before coming to tax payers (of which the rich contribute the majority of tax revenue) and asking for more of their earned money to pay for government’s mistakes? Also, would increasing taxes on the wealthy have any real impact on the deficit?