I’m not sure if it encourages saving but I can’t think of another way to tackle the debt that is more fair to people starting out and that incentivizes people to participate in the economy.
It’s not a fair situation to anyone — honestly it is a sad scenario. To be clear a special assessment does not imply that a higher wealth person pays a higher percentage of their wealth. I am not advocating for that.
It should be pointed out that people who currently work hard aren’t rewarded the same way people were when a lower tax environment existed. Do you think that is fair , if the taxes were raised significantly to cover the debt ? Specifically debt that the government accumulated before you even entered the workforce.