Arguing a position(should be textbooks free for college students)

Many students have to set aside a few hundred dollars every semester just to pay for textbooks. This would seem like a reasonable solution, but a lot of students have other things they need to pay for such as bills, food, and family members, which cost more than textbooks. It's hard enough as it is for college students to pay for fees, let alone shell out hundreds for a single textbook. Once the class is over, most students will only toss the book aside as they no longer have any use for it. Even if you sell your textbook, it's hard to get nearly the same price that you paid for it.

Another issue I've seen with the insane cost of textbooks is that students will always wait until the last minute to purchase their books and end up not being able to get it on time. Online access to a website is required as well and this is usually why the textbooks cost so much. Why not allow a student either free access or a lowered cost of a textbook so they don't have to pay hundreds for both? Most of the time, students just use the online textbook that comes along with the website, so why do they need to pay extra for the paper-bound version if they won't be using it. It's a waste of money and trees.