This week, I recommend Sharing Risk by Boston College, Liberty Mutual Professor of Law, Patricia McCoy.   Just out this summer, Sharing Risk offers an extraordinarily thoughtful articulation of current government policies aimed at helping ordinary Americans afford not only life’s minimal necessities but also adequate health care, owing a home, going to college, and a secure retirement.  It describes how those policies fall woefully short for more than half our population and how such policies might be reformed so that individuals can achieve some modicum of financial security.  Professor McCoy explains how current economic conditions render impossible the idea of individuals’ saving enough money to reach these key financial milestones and how government policy effectively forces millions to take on unaffordable debt.  Readers are encouraged to think broadly about what it means to live in a community that shares risk. The author’s erudition is impressive.  Her writing is clear.  And her solutions are measured and achievable.  Not everyone will embrace her approach that builds on the idea that we are all in this life together.  But all readers will encounter a powerful case for government offering a helping hand to those needing a boost to share in the American dream.