[nfb-talk] New money

[Michael Bullis]

This article from the LA Times talks about the cost issues.
My real problem with the ACB approach is that I would have argued for the
new money based on the convenience of everyone.  The reason most countries
around the world have money of different sizes and colors is that it's
convenient for sales people and consumers alike.  I also agree with the
judge's comments that the cost is insignifficant given the number of times
in the last ten years we've retooled for reasons of security and modern
technology.
I do not favor Braille money because that would truly draw everyone's
attention to blindness as being the reason for the change.  In that case we
would be stereotyped as needing Braille in everything we do.  A far better
solution is different sizes and colors which would lead no one to think it
was done for people who are blind.  Everyone would find it useful.
Mike

The Nation. Court orders a currency redesign to aid the blind. By Mima
Mohammed and Moises Mendoza, Times Staff Writers. WASHINGTON--The Treasury
Department
on Wednesday began considering its response to a federal court ruling that
ordered changes to paper currency so each denomination could be easily
identified
by blind and visually impaired people. The ruling by U.S. District Judge
James Robertson came in a lawsuit filed against the department by the
American
Council of the Blind, a Washington-based advocacy group. The group argued
that the government's failure to differentiate among denominations amounted
to
illegal discrimination, and Robertson agreed. We are still reviewing the
court order, and the government has made no determination as to what its
next
step will be in this matter," said Charles Miller, a spokesman for the
Justice Department's civil division. The Treasury Department has 10 days
from Tuesday's
ruling to decide whether to appeal. In his opinion, Robertson ordered the
Treasury Department to consider such options as changing the size and color
of
banknotes for each denomination and adding tactile differences, such as
foil, raised numbers or perforations, to the bills. Other currencies, such
as those
of the European Union, Japan, Switzerland and Saudi Arabia, include such
differences, he said, adding that the United States could have incorporated
similar
changes during recent redesigns that added anti-counterfeiting features. The
government has argued that doing so would prove a financial burden. But
Robertson
said that making one change -- adding a raised numeral -- would have
increased the government's $4.2-billion cost of manufacturing currency over
the last
decade by only 5%. 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," the judge wrote. That puts blind and low-vision
individuals at the risk of being cheated if they are unable to identify the
value
of paper money without help from others, he said. The issue has divided the
visually impaired community, with some believing that the ruling reinforces
negative stereotypes. We believe in solving real problems of discrimination
-- not in doing gimmicks that look like they solve a problem and could make
things actually worse," James Gashel, executive director for strategic
initiatives at the National Federation of the Blind, said Wednesday. For a
federal
court to say that we are being discriminated against is simply wrong." But
the American Council of the Blind, which filed the lawsuit four years ago,
was
"very happy" with the ruling, said Executive Director Melanie Brunson. We
don't see it as a negative, and we believe that it could improve
opportunities
for blind people," she said, enabling them to work at cash registers or as
vendors. According to the National Institutes of Health, about 3 million
Americans
have a visual impairment that cannot be corrected with glasses or contact
lenses. mima.mohammed at latimes.com. moises.mendoza at latimes.com.