Putting Government In Its Place: The Case for a New Deal 3.0 is available in hardcover or paperback from the publisher, HenschelHAUS.

It can also be purchased from Amazon. A Kindle version is available.

Praise for Putting Government In Its Place: The Case for a New Deal 3.0

“To read David Riemer's bold and provocative Putting Government In Its Place, which I strongly urge every citizen to do before Election Day 2020, is to understand the difference between an ideologue—a believer in a defined ideology—and a pragmatist—someone who instead is concerned with practical results. An ideologue believes that which is right works; the pragmatist believes instead that what works is right.

“Riemer is a knowledgeable, insightful, and honest pragmatist whom I have known for 45 years and who, himself, knows first-hand from his unique experiences in the United States Senate, in the State Capitol, and in City Hall, and as an original public thinker and doer, just what works and what doesn't. Because he has personally written budgets and public laws and made sure a program works for people the way it is supposed to, he gives us in Putting Government In Its Place a convincing and clear map forward for making our country healthier, stronger, more prosperous, and more just.

“David Riemer provides the reader a challenging diagnosis of our public condition today and then offers his fresh and his original vision for a better tomorrow. A book every candidate and every citizen should read before the 2020 election.”

-- Mark Shields, PBS NewsHour "Shields and Brooks,” Syndicated Columnist

“David Riemer does an excellent job identifying the challenges America faces in crafting a New Deal 3.0. And he takes an important step further, by presenting solutions, sometimes provocative ones, to move our nation forward. An engaging read."

-- Tom Barrett, Mayor of Milwaukee

“David Riemer is brilliant and is a rare bird. Very few people argue for an economy that includes everyone and uses the word ‘justice.’ David pulls it all together, from FDR to right now. He gives a map for economic justice and tells us how to get it done. This book is smart and wide. Read it.”

-- Peter Edelman, Carmack Waterhouse Professor of Law and Public Policy, Georgetown Law Center

“Rooted in the New Deal and intervening decades, Riemer gives us history, detail, and a ‘Change of Concept’ for the functions of government in the years ahead. An essential, enjoyable read whatever your politics.”

-- Jim Tallon, President Emeritus, United Hospital Fund of New York

“David Riemer draws on his decades in progressive government to offer a sophisticated plan to Make American Government Great Again. This would be the agenda if we elected a new Franklin Roosevelt in 2020. The book is persuasive that these ideas would work.”

-- Lance M. Liebman, William S. Beinecke Professor of Law Emeritus and Dean Emeritus, Columbia Law School

“Brilliant. David Riemer has written an original, historically grounded and thoughtful book which analyses the achievements, failures and potential of government in the contemporary United States. By shining a light on the ‘house that FDR built,’ he shows how the New Deal legacy has shaped both contemporary thinking about the role of government and the detail of so many policy programs.  Only by understanding that inheritance can today’s policy makers begin to construct a new strategy for coping with the pressing agenda of social and economic policy problems. The book deserves to be read by everyone with any interest in or responsibility for governance in the United States.”

-- Gillian Peele, Emeritus Fellow of Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford  and Emeritus Professor of Politics, University of Oxford

“David Riemer understands through long experience almost better than anyone the intricacies, opportunities, and warts in designing policies to promote work, strengthen human capacity, advance health care and budget for it at the same time. At a time when many elected officials claim they want major change but so far don’t seem to have any vision for what that entails, he offers a New Deal 3.0. It provides clear ways to provide greater economic security for unemployed, working, disabled, and retired seniors, along with more effective regulation of the market to prevent damage to the environment, workers, consumers, and investors alike.”

-- Eugene Steuerle, co-founder of the Urban Brookings Tax Policy Center and author of Dead Men Ruling

“Anyone who cares about the state of US democracy, economic security, massive inequality, and effective government will benefit from reading this book. David Riemer offers a timely and highly useful primer on the successes and shortcomings of the New Deal and its expansions up to now. He focuses on the ways that a reinvigorated (and recalibrated) New Deal – what he calls New Deal 3.0 – can help the US become more democratic and better prepared to deal with the challenges of the 21st century.”

-- John M. Bryson and Barbara C. Crosby, professors at the Humphrey School of Public Affairs at the University of Minnesota, coauthors of Leadership for the Common Good, and coeditors of Public Value and Public Administration

 “Part history, part economic theory, David Riemer’s new book Putting Government In Its Place: The Case for a New Deal 3.0, clearly delineates the successes and failures of FDR’s New Deal and the many follow-on policies that came after World War II. But, perhaps most importantly, he offers in his work thoughtful ideas and policy prescriptions for a New Deal 3.0 that he convincingly argues would ‘create a comprehensive structure of economic security for all Americans.’  Leaders in state capitals and Washington, DC, should take heed; Riemer’s work warrants a close review."

-- Michael Morgan, former Secretary of Revenue, State of Wisconsin

“The Social Security Act is the heart and soul of American social policy. But it’s growing a little brittle around the edges. In this spectacular volume, Riemer proposes a facelift. If you need surgery, get someone who loves and respects you to do it. If the nation were to follow Riemer’s recommendations, Social Security would be greatly improved and ready for anther three or four decades of serving children, adults, and the elderly.”

-- Ron Haskins, The Cabot Family Chair and a Senior Fellow in Economic Studies, Co-Director of the Center on Children and Families, The Brookings Institution

“In his new book, David Riemer finds inspiration in Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal of the 1930s in drawing up a blueprint for prosperity of all Americans, particularly lower income and working class citizens.  He looks at how the New Deal has changed through the years, has succeeded and failed, and calls for a New Deal 3.0 to meet 21stCentury challenges. His arguments are drawn from a lifetime of experience in government, research, and advocating for the less fortunate. This book is a must for anyone who cares about the state of our union. “ 

-- Kenneth A. Germanson, President Emeritus, Wisconsin Labor History Society

“David Riemer's new book is a must read for anyone interested in federal social programs' public policy in the 21st century. First, it provides an historical comprehensive account and superb analysis of how we got to our current programs and their respective structure. His legal and public policy training and experience form the basis for his ideas and prescriptions for what our country needs to change—they would be considered 'disruptive' in today's parlance—to better serve our residents. Though not all will find David's perspective to fit their own, all will find his contribution a compelling discourse and one that we should seriously consider."

-- Enrique E. Figueroa, Ph.D., Emeritus, Associate Professor, Department of Urban Planning, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee

 “David Riemer has provided us with a sweeping and provocative analysis of what's wrong with America's domestic policy and where it should go from here. His diagnosis of the U.S. health system's many flaws is insightful. Of greatest importance, he recommends a new health insurance model--based on his experience with the Wisconsin state employee health plan in Dane County--that is both compelling and detailed. Above all, it would fundamentally reform the health system's now perverse cost-increasing incentives, and replace them with incentives for all to seek and to provide quality cost-effective care."

-- Alain C. Enthoven, Ph.D., Marriner S. Eccles Professor of Public and Private Management (Emeritus), Knight Management Center, Stanford University

“In this innovative book, David Riemer demonstrates his intimate familiarity and experience with both crafting and implementing public policy at the local, state, and federal levels.  He argues persuasively that New Deal 3.0 requires a fundamental change in the government’s role in the economy.  It needs to focus exclusively on two objectives: 1) economic security for all Americans and 2) market regulation to address external costs, such as pollution, and to ensure that consumers’ interests are well served.  In contrast, he calls for the elimination of existent New Deal means tested welfare policies, which he views as poverty traps, and market manipulation through subsidies of particular products and services, which reward the political powerful at the expense of American households. In short, he argues that governments and markets both have critical roles in improving our economic well-being. Those interested in the recent history of national public policy as well as those interested in reforming it will benefit greatly from this book.”

-- Merton D. Finkler, Ph.D., John R. Kimberly Distinguished Professor Emeritus in the American Economic System, Lawrence University

“This book is a must-read for anyone interested in social and economic justice in the US. In Putting the Government in Its Place: A New Deal 3.0, David Riemer offers a renewed concept of the role of government based on the bold actions Franklin Roosevelt’s administration took from 1933 to 1938 in the depths of the Great Depression. This, he argues compellingly, is necessary if America is to thrive into the 21st century. He presents a pragmatic but visionary set of policies and programs that would very likely provide real economic security to American citizens and, at the same time, bring an end to unpopular and inefficient means-tested welfare programs and government manipulation of the market economy.

“Building on the innovative and successful elements of Roosevelt’s New Deal, some of which withered in the post 1970 era, Riemer calls for a bold action plan consisting of gradually introducing transitional jobs for the unemployed or underemployed, free child care, higher minimum wages, paid leave, increased income supplements, sufficient retirement and disability payments, the guarantee of collective bargaining, improved environmental protection, protection for consumers, workers, and investors, and universal health care as a supplement to Medicare. These government-sponsored reforms, he convincingly argues, if introduced incrementally, will increase the income of families and individuals, substantially reduce poverty in the United States, and greatly enhance the standard of living for all Americans. This third iteration of the New Deal can bring about an expansion of and the fulfillment of the government’s constitutional mandate to ensure the general welfare of its citizens.

 “New Dealer Harry Hopkins, my grandfather and champion of the underdog, would wholeheartedly buy into in this concept of a newly energized federal government providing transitional jobs to those who, because of the hazards and vicissitudes of a modern capitalist economy, find themselves unemployed, or underemployed. Hopkins fervently believed that the simple solution to poverty is a job paying a decent wage and a government leveling the playing field. Riemer’s plan for New Deal 3.0 would go a long way in achieving this end.”

-- Dr. June Hopkins, Professor of History, Emerita, Georgia Southern University, Armstrong Campus

"So much rhetoric today is about good vs. evil. Sadly, sometimes that’s appropriate, but if you want to actually improve government policy outcomes read David Riemer’s ‘Putting Government In Its Place.’ Mayors, governors, legislators, policy analysts, and concerned citizens will be inspired when they're reminded that with thoughtfulness and determination public policy can significantly improve people’s lives.” 

-- John Norquist, Mayor of Milwaukee (1988 to 2004) and former President and CEO of Congress for the New Urbanism

“It is important to give credit for massive sea policy changes in the basic ‘social contract’ of government with its citizenry. But government's duty is to continually evaluate whether what served best in the past serves best for the future. Riemer's book compels us to do just that. And he goes yet a step further by posing what a better government, a better future could look like. That is why it ought to be a ‘must read’ for all of us citizens."

-- Kathleen Falk, Dane County Executive (1997-2011) and former Regional Director, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services