"The inability of politicians to restrain their spending of taxpayer dollars is the direct result of the forceful application of political power. And, in California, there are no greater political influences than the public employee unions. Between the most powerful unions -- reflected in the alphabet soup of acronyms CTA, SEIU, CCPOA & AFSCME -- they are able to force the legislators whom they placed into power (many union leaders themselves) to maintain a high level of government largess. Even liberal Democratic leader Bill Lockyer, now state Treasurer, publicly scolded a legislative committee saying they were incapable of reforms because of who put them in power. It is in this context that Steven Greenhut has just released his book, aptly titled Plunder! How Public Employee Unions Are Raiding Treasuries Controlling Our Lives and Bankrupting the Nation. Readers who have high blood pressure are advised to take a double dose of medication before opening this book. For the vast majority of ordinary citizens who toil in the private sector, this book will produce more than outrage -- it is likely to spur many to take up the cause of stopping these corrupting influences on our systems of governance."  MORE >>