[nfb-talk] Cash

[John Heim]

> On the other hand, with respect to cash transactions, the blind handle 
> their
> currency and have always done so with very little difficulty. So we of NFB

That is simply not true. Or at least it's no more true than it is for the 
web.  I browse the web every single day. I make my living using the web.

In fact, I need help handling money far, far more often than I need help 
with web pages. EVERY single transaction requires me to get help with my 
cash. Every single one.  I almost never need help with the web. In fact, I 
am more often helping people than the other way around .

Also, there is an apparent conflict of interest here. The NFB is now selling 
the very gismos that they claim blind people can use to sort their money. 
That may not be the reason they took their stance but it looks bad.

Another thing that makes no sense is the aargument that changing the money 
will make it harder for blind people to get jobs because it gives people the 
idea that blind people can't handle money. But you can't give people an idea 
they already have. It's ridiculous to say that it will be harder for blind 
people to get jobs if the money is changed. Try getting a job handling money 
today. What do you think your odds are. About zero. Changing the money might 
not improve the odds much but it sure ain't gonna hurt.

Changing the money will make it far, far easier for blind people to do their 
jobs. Any job involving travel will be made far easier. I was in Brooklyn 
once. I was running late so I bought a hotdog from a street vendor, jumped 
in a cab to the airport, tipped a skycap  who helped me get to the gate. All 
those transactions were conducted in cash. I want to be able to reach into 
my pocket and pull out the $5 that the cabbie gave me and hand it to the 
skycap. You want to talk about making a bad impression, try asking a skycap 
to sort your money so you can figure out his tip. That looks pathetic.

When I'm handed a wad of bills after  buying a beer at a football game, I 
want to be able to count it MYSELF and say, "Um, pardon me, I think you made 
a mistake here." How in the world can the NFB stand in the way of that?