by Sven Larson What can state pension reform advocates learn from Masutatsu Oyama? A great deal. Mr. Oyama - or Sosai Oyama as he should properly be referred to - was the founder of kyokushin karate, one of the toughest striking styles of martial arts ever invented. To prove just how tough his style was, Sosai Oyama fought full-grown bulls using no...

Talk of pension reform in the government sector starts the usual hand wringing among those who think they know best for everyone else. At the moment, Wyoming's government signs most of its workers up to a defined benefit pension plan, whether these workers would prefer another option or not. Most people in the private sector, if they have a pension...

Letter to the editor published in the Wyoming Tribune Eagle, September 28, 2014 As is often the case, those without a response to an argument resort to ad hominem attacks, as in Rodger McDaniel's commentary, the rick think differently, in Saturday's Wyoming Tribune Eagle. Former state of Wyoming pensioners, such as Mr. McDaniel, must understand tha...

Government pension plans promise to pay current and future retirees a benefit based on a defined formula. To make good on its promise, government contributes tax dollars to a pension fund and invests them to generate income. But what happens when contributions and investment returns fall short? Will government raise taxes, cut spending, or reduce t...

Few people understand how the state pension system works but objections to reform are legion. Even though the type of pension benefit state employees receive has virtually disappeared in the private sector, many politicians, bureaucrats and state pension managers seem to think the government sector is different, making reform unnecessary. However, ...

Pension contributions to rise.Taxpayers now contribute $6.71 for every $1 contributed by bureaucrats.Taxpayers soon to be gouged at $7.08:1 before improvement to $6.21:1. Wyoming's last legislative session saw movement in the direction of more government sector pension reform, and not a moment too soon. With only 77.62 cents per dollar promised ava...