[nfb-talk] From today's New York Times

[Powers, Terry (NIH/OD/DEAS) [E]]

Rick;
Who ever wrote this is crazy.  If you are going to make any changes, why
start with the bills used the least and also in many cases used not at
all by the blind.  We need to start with the most frequently used bill,
the one, the five, the ten and the twenty.

Terry Powers


_____________________________________________
From: nfb-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nfb-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org]
On Behalf Of Rick E Morin
Sent: Sunday, December 03, 2006 8:06 AM
To: 'NFB Talk Mailing List'
Subject: [nfb-talk] From today's 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.
Rick E. Morin
mailto:rick.morin at comcast.net


 << File: ATT3053552.txt >> 
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RE: [nfb-talk] From today's New York Times
R
ick;
Who ever wrote this is crazy.  If you are going to make any changes, why start with
the bills used the least and also in many cases used not at all by the blind.  We need to start with the most
frequently used bill, the one, the five, the ten and the twenty.
Terry Powers
_____________________________________________
From:
nfb-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org [ mailto:nfb-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org mailto:nfb-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org
]
On Behalf Of
Rick E Morin
Sent:
Sunday, December 03, 2006 8:06 AM
To:
'NFB Talk Mailing List'
Subject:
[nfb-talk] From today's 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 &#8212; 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&#8217;s paper money.
Changing United States legal tender would be expensive &#8212; 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&#8217;s lawyers have argued that some changes could make it easier to counterfeit United States cash.
Judge James Robertson&#8217;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 &#8212; 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 &#8212; the singles &#8212; the same as ever. However it happens, the change could also be a boon to Americans who are not blessed with 20-20 vision.
Rick E. Morin
mailto:rick.morin at comcast.net
mailto:rick.morin at comcast.net
 << File: ATT3053552.txt >>