[Iabs-talk] the new york times take on currency for the blind

[Dave Wright]

The New York Times
December 3, 2006
Editorial
If It Feels Like a Dollar ...
Anybody who has ever handed over a $10 bill thinking it was a dollar knows
the problem. Unlike the currency in 180 other countries, the American
greenback comes in one size, and one dominant color - green. That can be so
confusing for the 3.3 million Americans who are either blind or have very
poor sight that a United States District Court judge in the District of
Columbia ruled last week that the government had unlawfully denied them
access to the nation's paper money. Changing United States legal tender
would be expensive - the government says that redesigning its currency would
cost hundreds of millions of dollars. It would also pose problems for those
who make or use machines that take money for tickets or soft drinks, or
change at the Laundromat. And the government's lawyers have argued that some
changes could make it easier to counterfeit United States cash. Judge James
Robertson's opinion makes it clear that the American government simply has
not tried very hard to help those Americans who cannot see their money. The
Treasury Department has revamped United States currency design twice in the
last 10 years without making any real adaptation for the blind - despite
numerous pleas. None of the other objections seem convincing. The machines
that take dollars could be adapted; in Europe, they work with currency that
comes in a variety of sizes. And some of the additions to bills that help
the blind, like embossed dots or raised numerals, are used elsewhere as
extra safeguards against counterfeiting. Judge Robertson wisely resisted
telling the Bureau of Engraving and Printing exactly how to make its bills
more accessible to the visually impaired. He merely wants officials to
return soon to his court and offer a plan. United States currency might come
in slightly different sizes or textures for each denomination. Perhaps the
money-printing machines in Washington could start on the larger-denomination
bills first, leaving the most numerous ones - the singles - the same as
ever. However it happens, the change could also be a boon to Americans who
are not blessed with 20-20 vision. Copyright 2006 The New York Times Company

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The New York Times
December 3, 2006
Editorial
If It Feels Like a Dollar ...
Anybody who has ever handed over a $10 bill thinking it was a dollar knows
the problem. Unlike the currency in 180 other countries, the American
greenback comes in one size, and one dominant color - green. That can be so
confusing for the 3.3 million Americans who are either blind or have very
poor sight that a United States District Court judge in the District of
Columbia ruled last week that the government had unlawfully denied them
access to the nation's paper money. Changing United States legal tender
would be expensive - the government says that redesigning its currency would
cost hundreds of millions of dollars. It would also pose problems for those
who make or use machines that take money for tickets or soft drinks, or
change at the Laundromat. And the government's lawyers have argued that some
changes could make it easier to counterfeit United States cash. Judge James
Robertson's opinion makes it clear that the American government simply has
not tried very hard to help those Americans who cannot see their money. The
Treasury Department has revamped United States currency design twice in the
last 10 years without making any real adaptation for the blind - despite
numerous pleas. None of the other objections seem convincing. The machines
that take dollars could be adapted; in Europe, they work with currency that
comes in a variety of sizes. And some of the additions to bills that help
the blind, like embossed dots or raised numerals, are used elsewhere as
extra safeguards against counterfeiting. Judge Robertson wisely resisted
telling the Bureau of Engraving and Printing exactly how to make its bills
more accessible to the visually impaired. He merely wants officials to
return soon to his court and offer a plan. United States currency might come
in slightly different sizes or textures for each denomination. Perhaps the
money-printing machines in Washington could start on the larger-denomination
bills first, leaving the most numerous ones - the singles - the same as
ever. However it happens, the change could also be a boon to Americans who
are not blessed with 20-20 vision. Copyright 2006 The New York Times Company