[Jobs] Time Magazine article on accessible print money

[melissa R. Green]

Thanks for sharing this.
In my opinion, i would love to have accessible money.
However, I need to be employed to earn that accessible money.
So I think that employment and education of blind people should be a
priority.
just my thoughts.
 

Melissa R. Green
A man can fail many times, but he isn't a failure until he begins to
blame someone else.


-----Original Message-----
From: jobs-bounces+graduate56=juno.com at nfbnet.org
[mailto:jobs-bounces+graduate56=juno.com at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of
cheryl echevarria
Sent: Tuesday, May 20, 2008 11:26 AM
To: David R. Stayer
Subject: [Jobs] Time Magazine article on accessible print money

(WASHINGTON) - The U.S. discriminates against blind people by printing
paper money that makes it impossible for them to distinguish among the
bills' varying values, a federal appeals court ruled Tuesday.

The ruling upholds a decision by a lower court in 2006. It could force
the Treasury Department to redesign its money. Suggested changes have
ranged from making bills different sizes to printing them with raised
markings.

The American Council for the Blind sued for such changes but the
Treasury Department has been fighting the case for about six years. "I
don't think we should have to rely on people to tell us what our money
is," said Mitch Pomerantz, the council's president.

The U.S. acknowledges the design hinders blind people but it argued
that blind people have adapted. Some relied on store clerks to help
them, some used credit cards and others folded certain corners to help
distinguish between bills.

The court ruled 2-1 that such adaptations were insufficient. The
government might as well argue that, since handicapped people can
crawl on all fours or ask for help from strangers, there's no need to
make buildings wheelchair accessible, the court said.

Courts can't decide how to design the currency, since that's up to the
Treasury Department. But the ruling forces the department to address
what the court called a discriminatory problem.

Pomerantz says it could take years to change the look of money and
until then, he expects that similar-looking money will continue to get
printed and spent. But since blindness becomes more common with age,
people in the 30s and 40s should know that, when they get older, "they
will be able to identify their $1 bills from their fives, tens and
twenties," he said.

Officials at the Treasury Department and the department's Bureau of
Engraving and Printing, which prints the nation's currency, had no
immediate comment on the ruling. The government could appeal to the
Supreme Court.

While the government has been fighting to overturn the lower court
ruling, it has been taking some steps toward modifying U.S. currency
for the visually impaired.

The most recent currency redesign of the $5 bill introduced in March
features a giant "5" printed in purple on one side of the bill to help
those with vision problems distinguish the bill.

The appeals court also ruled that the U.S. failed to explain why
changing the money would be an undue burden. The Treasury Department
has redesigned its currency several times in recent years, and adding
features to aid the blind would come at a relatively small cost, the
court said.

Other countries have added such features, the court said, and the U.S.
never explained what made its situation so unique.

Cheryl Echevarria, NCICS (National Certified Medical Insurance and
Coding Specialist)
Treasurer
NFB of NY/Long Island Chapter
skype: angeldn38
windows live messenger:
cherylandmaxx at hotmail.com<mailto:cherylandmaxx at hotmail.com>

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