Obama To Take Over Control of College Textbooks?

Big Government ^ | Warner Todd Huston

[Sopater]

Candace de Russy over at National Review posted an alarming example ^[1] of an Obama power grab. Or perhaps more precisely it’s yet another alarming example of an Obama power grab. This time Obama apparently is setting the table to take control of what is printed in our nation’s college textbooks.

This one slipped past my radar in August of 2009, but apparently Barack Obama signed the Federal Textbook Act (Download .pdf file ^[2]) that made provisions for the federal government to take control of the pricing and availability of the text books in our institutions of higher learning (at least the ones that take federal funding).

According to the language of the act, it is all about keeping textbooks affordable for students.

Purpose and Intent- The purpose of this section is to ensure that students have access to affordable course materials by decreasing costs to students and enhancing transparency and disclosure with respect to the selection, purchase, sale, and use of course materials. It is the intent of this section to encourage all of the involved parties, including faculty, students, administrators, institutions of higher education, bookstores, distributors, and publishers, to work together to identify ways to decrease the cost of college textbooks and supplemental materials for students while supporting the academic freedom of faculty members to select high quality course materials for students.

Sounds good, right?

Maybe not so much.

National Review quotes George Mason economics professor Donald J. Boudreaux as saying that this act seems to be “a first step toward federal oversight of the contents of college textbooks.” As proof he points specifically to section C, the publisher requirements section.

(C) A description of the substantial content revisions made between the current edition of the college textbook or supplemental material and the previous edition, if any.

Why does Obama’s overlords need to know what revisions have been made to a textbook? This act is supposed to be concerned with pricing and availability, not content… isn’t it?

Of course, we all know that once government gets its tendrils into your business it takes all power away from you and reassigns it to government. So, once this act is implemented, any federal money involved will give government the opening to begin controlling everything in the process of creating and distributing college textbooks.

As prof Boudreaux points out, if people are upset over the recent newfound control that the conservative leaning Texas textbook commission had over new textbooks, then how upset might they be if the federal government takes over our college textbooks? There should be no difference at all in the reaction if it was really government control that was being opposed.

Naturally, its always about whose ox is being gored with liberals. Texas textbook control: baaaaad. Obama textbook control: gooooood.

I would also point out one other thing. Many professors in our nation’s colleges and universities have hit the lottery by writing textbooks for their own classes, books that their university will then adopt as the “official” textbook for class work. These professors make a tidy sum of money on these expensive, small print run books that their captive student audience is forced to buy. It would seem to me that this Federal Textbook Act could easily eliminate this lucrative but under-the-radar source of income for professors everywhere. Not that I am against that, but it is something for those lefty profs that so love their Obammessiah to think about.

This bill was originally signed in 2008 by President Bush and was introduced by Illinois Senator Dick Durbin. It took effect this year during Obama’s presidency. But regardless of who signed it — and this shows that Bush was as bad as Obama for his love of big government — it is a bad idea to allow the federal government to get involved in the production of text books.

[Sopater]

ping

[MrB]

No need to.

The colleges and professors already control the textbooks, and they make sure that the texts support their indoctrination agenda.

[Blue Turtle]

Its disheartening (which is the intention)....as I have kids that I want to go to college, but where?

[Republic]

Still...this is truly scary stuff. Our history is at stake. Which means our future is, too.

[Psalm 144]

The greatest outrage is the federal monopoly on college loans now.

That passes almost without comment.

These people are totalitarians in intent, but I think as they say down in Louisiana that their alligator mouths are going to overload their mosquito asses.

[MrB]

Hillsdale or Patrick Henry University or University of the Ozarks

[Republic]

Can this Federal Textbook Act be overturned?

[MrB]

I read the back of the book.
We win, they lose.

[MrB]

Dare I say the "S Word"?

secession

It's gonna come to that. He's guaranteeing it.

[businessprofessor]

In the liberal arts, the textbooks are politically correct. In sciences, business, and engineering, politically correctness is a minor issue.

Democrats want to control the prices of textbooks. One way to control textbook prices is to restrict textbook revisions. Revised editions generate new sales. Older editions are primarily used sales.

[metmom]

Our world is beginning to read more and more like a Left Behind novel every day, at an alarming rate.

The power grabs this guy is making is unreal and proceeding at an astounding pace.

[penelopesire]

“Its disheartening (which is the intention)....as I have kids that I want to go to college, but where?”

Hillsdale!

[Comparative Advantage]

It’s going to come to that? It’s already here!

[SnakeDoctor]

Not that this law is a good idea at all ... but my guess is that this has little to do with content. Obama simply does not need to intervene to make college textbooks more liberal. Colleges self-regulate in that regard.

I took a college history class that was teaching from Howard Zinn’s “People’s History of the United States”. He literally couldn’t make that book more liberal if he wanted to.

As to regulation of college profits from textbook sales ... I think they should be free to profit (as we all should be), but find it difficult to summon sympathy for lost profits at socialist institutions.

SnakeDoc

[Ingtar]

This is his way of getting around things like the Texas board deciding to cut SOME of the liberal content from textbooks.

[Republic]

It seems that everyday we are learning about the leftists’ amazing creeping filthy dirty tactics bent on destroying what was and putting in their vision of a state run society where everyone’s spirit is enslaved and then crushed under the weight of total loss of freedom.

[who knows what evil?]

Your children might be better off learning a trade...that could come in very handy as the infrastructure continues to collapse...

[LearsFool]

Add another vote for Hillsdale. I'm not an alumnus, but am rather impressed by them.

[xsmommy]

also, the University of Dallas.