College Libertarians doing party disservice supporting tax-free textbooks

For months, I have been amused by the tax-free textbook plan. It was not until I read last Friday's IDS that I felt obliged to comment publicly. I was particularly disturbed that a rally in support of the idea was being co-sponsored by the IU College Libertarians. As a longtime Libertarian, I whole-heartedly support their goals of less government, lower taxes and greater personal freedom and responsibility. But the plan to eliminate the sales tax on textbooks has nothing to do with reducing taxes or shrinking government. There is no Libertarian principle at work here. Despite the IU Student Association's rhetoric of "participating in the political process," this plan does not represent a noble exercise in democracy. Rather it represents politics at its worst -- special interest groups eyeing the deep pockets of government and looking for a handout. You cannot lower taxes without also reducing government spending. If this were an honest attempt at lowering taxes, its supporters would explain how they expect to pay for their plan. They would say where they would reduce spending. But the people pushing this proposal are not advocating smaller government. In fact, many of the people lobbying for tax-free textbooks are also lobbying for larger government in the form of state funding for IU. Clearly, they want the benefits of government funded education, but they are unwilling to pay for it. In the absence of spending cuts, the tax-free textbook plan merely shifts the cost to someone else. The plan's proponents don't seem to care who will end up paying it. They have been blinded by the prospect of giving themselves a tax cut. I would have expected the IU College Libertarians to see the plan for what it is.