Textbooks

After Wall Street practices brought down the entire U.S. and parts of the world economies, Congress finally stepped up in July 2010 and enacted the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. The centerpiece of this landmark legislation is the creation of the Student PIRG-backed Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), a new agency that will act as a counterbalance to the banks and ensure that the credit cards, mortgages, and student loans that consumers use are safe and easy to understand. As of July 21, 2010, when you have a complaint about a bank or credit card company, you can call on the new CFPB, which is already online at www.ConsumerFinance.gov. 

Everyone knows that textbooks prices are outrageous. Students spend an average of $1,168 a year on textbooks and course materials, and prices have been rising more than for times the rate of inflation for the past two decades!

Every student knows that textbook prices are outrageous! Many books cost over $200 a piece and end up worth pennies by the end of the semester, often thanks to unnecessary new editions and pass-codes that expire. It's time for publishers to stop charging ridiculous prices and start taking advantage of today's technology to offer students a better deal. Our campaign is working to increase the use of "open textbooks," which are free online, free to share, and affordable in print -- the ideal publishing model to make textbooks affordable.