[nfb-talk] Fw: [acb-l] Associated Press Reports ACB'sVictoryRequiring Accessable Currency

Wed Nov 29 21:43:52 CST 2006

When I go to the bank or when I am shopping, it is very simple to 
tell the clerk to give you the 20s first, tens, etc.  I can honestly 
say that it only takes a couple of seconds and I have never been 
ripped off.  Leave it to the ACB to make a big deal out of 
this.  There are so many other issues in life that are of much 
greater importance than the size of bills.

Connie Canode
At 11:26 AM 11/29/2006, you wrote:
>Hey folks,
>
>So we fold our money and can identify it that way.  Very true.
>
>But a sighted person is generally needed to identify the denominations
>in the first place.
>
>I'm going to air on the side of logic here.  Yeah, we should make them
>different sizes.  Forget different colors because that leaves many of us
>out.  Forget coins for obvious reasons.  The gold standard ain't comin'
>back.  Let's just make the denominations different sizes.  Makes sense
>to be able to identify it from the time you take possession of it, on
>your own.  No?
>
>Federationist I am and damn proud of that.  But not doing anything makes
>very little sense.
>
>Harmeet
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: nfb-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nfb-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org]
>On Behalf Of ANTONIO GUIMARAES
>Sent: Tuesday, November 28, 2006 8:47 PM
>To: NFB Talk Mailing List
>Subject: Re: [nfb-talk] Fw: [acb-l] Associated Press Reports
>ACB'sVictoryRequiring Accessable Currency
>
>Braille on dollar bills would make bills too bulky, and awkward for
>banks to
>store, and transport.
>
>Solely relying on coins would be expensive, and banks would oppose it
>for
>the same reason mention above.
>
>The article states
>
>"Of the more than 180 countries that issue paper currency, only the
>United
>States prints bills that are identical in size and color in all their
>denominations,"
>Robertson wrote."
>
>  Is this a fact? Is the United States oh so backward? Besides, if money
>is
>to be made accessible to the blind, do we want it to be a visual
>feature, or
>will it be a clear tactile distinction.
>
>What can we do to make money accessible to the blind? More jobs, and
>less
>fuss about the rehabilitation act sounds like sound policy to me.
>
>In adition to my comments, I am including what seems to be the full,
>unedited, uncut version of the article, witch I received on another
>list,
>not an ACB list.
>
>It might be valuable to read the edited out part first, I think, so here
>it
>is:
>
>The other side, left out of the ACB/generated e-mail
>
>Others have developed ways to cope with the similarly shaped bills.
>Melanie Brunson, a member of the American Council of the Blind, told the
>court that
>she folds her bills into different shapes: $1 bills stay straight, $5
>bills are folded in half left to right, $10 bills in half top to bottom
>and $20 in
>quarters.
>
>The Treasury Department had no comment on the ruling Tuesday. The
>government has 10 days to decide whether to appeal.
>
>U.S. bills have not always been the same size. In 1929, the government
>standardized the size and shrank all bills by about 30 percent to lower
>manufacturing
>costs and help distinguish between genuine and counterfeit notes.
>
>Since then, the Treasury Department has worked to stay ahead of
>counterfeiters. Security threads and microprinting were introduced in
>1990. The portraits
>were enlarged in 1996, and an infrared feature was added to encourage
>the
>development of electronic readers for the blind.
>
>The latest redesign is under way. New $10 bills, featuring splashes of
>orange, yellow and red, hit the market this year, following similar
>changes to the
>$20 bill in 2003 and the $50 bill in 2004. The $5 facelift is due in
>2008.
>
>In court documents, government attorneys said changing the way money
>feels
>would be expensive. Cost estimates ranged from $75 million in equipment
>upgrades
>and $9 million annual expenses for punching holes in bills to $178
>million
>in one-time charges and $50 million annual expenses for printing bills
>of
>varying
>sizes.
>
>Any change to the dollar's design could ripple into the vending machine
>industry, which participated in discussions regarding previous
>redesigns.
>The American
>Council of the Blind is not seeking changes to the $1 bill, according to
>court documents.
>
>The Treasury Department spent $4.2 billion on printing over the past
>decade, Robertson said. Adding a raised number to the bills would have
>increased costs
>less than 5 percent over that period, he said.
>
>"If additional savings could be gained by incorporating the new feature
>into a larger redesign, such as those that took place in 1996 or 2004,
>the
>total
>burden of adding such a feature would be even smaller," Robertson wrote.
>
>
>
>
>
>
>Now, the full article
>Judge: make bills recognizable to blind
>MATT APUZZO
>Associated Press
>
>WASHINGTON - The government discriminates against blind people by
>printing
>money that all looks and feels the same, a federal judge said Tuesday in
>a
>ruling
>that could change the face of American currency.
>
>U.S. District Judge James Robertson ordered the Treasury Department to
>come up with ways for the blind to tell bills apart. He said he wouldn't
>tell officials
>how to fix the problem, but he ordered them to begin working on it.
>
>The American Council of the Blind has proposed several options,
>including
>printing bills of differing sizes, adding embossed dots or foil to the
>paper or
>using raised ink.
>
>"Of the more than 180 countries that issue paper currency, only the
>United
>States prints bills that are identical in size and color in all their
>denominations,"
>Robertson wrote. "More than 100 of the other issuers vary their bills in
>size according to denomination, and every other issuer includes at least
>some
>features that help the visually impaired."
>
>Government attorneys argued that forcing the Treasury Department to
>change
>the size of the bills or add texture would make it harder to prevent
>counterfeiting.
>Robertson was not swayed.
>
>"The fact that each of these features is currently used in other
>currencies suggests that, at least on the face of things, such
>accommodations are reasonable,"
>he wrote.
>
>He said the government was violating the Rehabilitation Act, which
>prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability in government
>programs. The opinion
>came after a four-year legal fight.
>
>Electronic devices are available to help blind people differentiate
>between bills, but many complain that they are slow, expensive and
>unreliable. Visually
>impaired shoppers frequently rely on store clerks to help them.
>
>"It's just frankly unfair that blind people should have to rely on the
>good faith of people they have never met in knowing whether they've been
>given the
>correct change," said Jeffrey A. Lovitky, attorney for the plaintiffs in
>the lawsuit.
>
>Others have developed ways to cope with the similarly shaped bills.
>Melanie Brunson, a member of the American Council of the Blind, told the
>court that
>she folds her bills into different shapes: $1 bills stay straight, $5
>bills are folded in half left to right, $10 bills in half top to bottom
>and $20 in
>quarters.
>
>The Treasury Department had no comment on the ruling Tuesday. The
>government has 10 days to decide whether to appeal.
>
>U.S. bills have not always been the same size. In 1929, the government
>standardized the size and shrank all bills by about 30 percent to lower
>manufacturing
>costs and help distinguish between genuine and counterfeit notes.
>
>Since then, the Treasury Department has worked to stay ahead of
>counterfeiters. Security threads and microprinting were introduced in
>1990. The portraits
>were enlarged in 1996, and an infrared feature was added to encourage
>the
>development of electronic readers for the blind.
>
>The latest redesign is under way. New $10 bills, featuring splashes of
>orange, yellow and red, hit the market this year, following similar
>changes to the
>$20 bill in 2003 and the $50 bill in 2004. The $5 facelift is due in
>2008.
>
>In court documents, government attorneys said changing the way money
>feels
>would be expensive. Cost estimates ranged from $75 million in equipment
>upgrades
>and $9 million annual expenses for punching holes in bills to $178
>million
>in one-time charges and $50 million annual expenses for printing bills
>of
>varying
>sizes.
>
>Any change to the dollar's design could ripple into the vending machine
>industry, which participated in discussions regarding previous
>redesigns.
>The American
>Council of the Blind is not seeking changes to the $1 bill, according to
>court documents.
>
>The Treasury Department spent $4.2 billion on printing over the past
>decade, Robertson said. Adding a raised number to the bills would have
>increased costs
>less than 5 percent over that period, he said.
>
>"If additional savings could be gained by incorporating the new feature
>into a larger redesign, such as those that took place in 1996 or 2004,
>the
>total
>burden of adding such a feature would be even smaller," Robertson wrote.
>
>
>
>----- Original Message -----
>From: "dmgina" <dmgina at qwest.net>
>To: "NFB Talk Mailing List" <nfb-talk at nfbnet.org>
>Sent: Tuesday, November 28, 2006 10:56 PM
>Subject: Re: [nfb-talk] Fw: [acb-l] Associated Press Reports
>ACB'sVictoryRequiring Accessable Currency
>
>
>If they put the Braille on the money then I would be for it.
>But if we go to all coins then that wouldn't help those of us who have
>bad
>shoulders.
>Carrying out all of the money they need.
>Just some thoughts.
>
>
>--Dar
>every saint has a past,
>every sinner has a future
>----- Original Message -----
>From: "James Aldrich" <jkaldrich at qwest.net>
>To: "NFB Talk Mailing List" <nfb-talk at nfbnet.org>
>Sent: Tuesday, November 28, 2006 9:45 PM
>Subject: [nfb-talk] Fw: [acb-l] Associated Press Reports ACB's
>VictoryRequiring Accessable Currency
>
>
>Hello all,
>
>Since this subject has come up, here is the material which brought this
>forth.  ACB has advocated for the printing of braille money or some kind
>of
>identification for our paper currency.  This should be interesting
>indeed as
>to how it will play out.  No doubt somebody might say that federal judge
>is
>too pushy and the whole thing could be thrown out.  This is something to
>be
>watched.
>
>Jim Aldrich
>
>
>----- Original Message -----
>From: "Tom Mills" <tmills79 at bellsouth.net>
>To: <acb-l at acb.org>
>Cc: <alabama at acb.org>; "NFBnet Blind Law Mailing List"
><blindlaw at nfbnet.org>; <4alabama at nfbnet.org>
>Sent: Tuesday, November 28, 2006 3:28 PM
>Subject: [acb-l] Associated Press Reports ACB's Victory Requiring
>Accessable
>Currency
>
>
>Judge: make bills recognizable to blind
>11/28/2006, 4:49 p.m. ET
>By MATT APUZZO
>The Associated Press
>WASHINGTON (AP) - By keeping all U.S. currency the same size and
>texture,
>the government
>has denied blind people meaningful access to money, a federal judge said
>Tuesday.
>U.S. District Judge James Robertson said the Treasury Department has
>violated the
>law, and he ordered the government to come up with ways for the blind to
>tell bills
>apart.
>He said he wouldn't tell officials how to fix the problem, but he
>ordered
>them to
>begin working on it within 10 days. The American Council of the Blind
>has
>proposed
>several options, including printing bills of differing sizes, adding
>embossed dots
>or foil to the paper or using raised ink.
>"Of the more than 180 countries that issue paper currency, only the
>United
>States
>prints bills that are identical in size and color in all their
>denominations," Robertson
>wrote. "More than 100 of the other issuers vary their bills in size
>according to
>denomination, and every other issuer includes at least some features
>that
>help the
>visually impaired."
>Government attorneys argued that forcing the Treasury Department to
>change
>the size
>of the bills or add texture would make it harder to prevent
>counterfeiting.
>Robertson
>was not swayed.
>"The fact that each of these features is currently used in other
>currencies
>suggests
>that, at least on the face of things, such accommodations are
>reasonable,"
>he wrote.
>He said the government was violating the Rehabilitation Act, which
>prohibits
>discrimination
>on the basis of disability in government programs. The opinion came
>after a
>four-year
>legal fight.
>"It's a landmark decision. I believe it will benefit millions of
>people,"
>said Jeffrey
>A. Lovitky, attorney for plaintiffs in the lawsuit.
>Copyright 2006 Associated Press. All rights reserved.
>This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or
>redistributed.
>(c) 2006 al.com All Rights Reserved.
>
>
>
>************************************************************
>Join the MMS program of ACB and help improve tomorrow today in ACB.
>Contact Dr. Ron Milliman, MMS Program Committee Chair, by e-mail:
>rmilliman at ziggycom.net
>or by phone at 270-782-9325 and get started making
>tomorrow look brighter today!
>
>* ACB-L is maintained and brought to you as a service      *
>* of the American Council of the Blind.                    *
>--
>To unsubscribe, e-mail: acb-l-unsubscribe at acb.org
>For additional commands, e-mail: acb-l-help at acb.org
>
>
>
>
>--
>No virus found in this incoming message.
>Checked by AVG Free Edition.
>Version: 7.5.430 / Virus Database: 268.14.19/556 - Release Date:
>11/28/2006
>3:22 PM
>
>
>_______________________________________________
>nfb-talk mailing list
>nfb-talk at nfbnet.org
>http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nfb-talk
>
>
>
>--
>No virus found in this incoming message.
>Checked by AVG Free Edition.
>Version: 7.5.430 / Virus Database: 268.14.19/556 - Release Date:
>11/28/2006
>3:22 PM
>
>
>_______________________________________________
>nfb-talk mailing list
>nfb-talk at nfbnet.org
>http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nfb-talk
>
>
>--
>No virus found in this incoming message.
>Checked by AVG Free Edition.
>Version: 7.1.409 / Virus Database: 268.14.19/555 - Release Date:
>11/27/2006
>
>
>_______________________________________________
>nfb-talk mailing list
>nfb-talk at nfbnet.org
>http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nfb-talk
>_______________________________________________
>nfb-talk mailing list
>nfb-talk at nfbnet.org
>http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nfb-talk