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| Paper Money Discriminates Against the Blind | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Nov 28 2006, 05:57 PM (460 Views) | |
| George K | Nov 28 2006, 05:57 PM Post #1 |
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Finally
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Judge: Make Bills Recognizable to Blind By MATT APUZZO Associated Press Writer 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 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. |
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A guide to GKSR: Click "Now look here, you Baltic gas passer... " - Mik, 6/14/08 Nothing is as effective as homeopathy. I'd rather listen to an hour of Abba than an hour of The Beatles. - Klaus, 4/29/18 | |
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| DivaDeb | Nov 28 2006, 06:26 PM Post #2 |
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HOLY CARP!!!
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it's about time |
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| David Burton | Nov 28 2006, 08:16 PM Post #3 |
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Senior Carp
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Why? Are you blind? I've been around, every other country has bills of different sizes so they never fold neatly in your wallet and are far easier for pickpockets to steal - personal experience. Yeah, like they put Braille on ATM machines in bank drive thrus, a lot of sense. |
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| JBryan | Nov 28 2006, 08:19 PM Post #4 |
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I am the grey one
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More governance from the bench. Their grip on power is almost complete. Say goodbye to a three branch system. |
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"Any man who would make an X rated movie should be forced to take his daughter to see it". - John Wayne There is a line we cross when we go from "I will believe it when I see it" to "I will see it when I believe it". Henry II: I marvel at you after all these years. Still like a democratic drawbridge: going down for everybody. Eleanor: At my age there's not much traffic anymore. From The Lion in Winter. | |
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| LWpianistin | Nov 28 2006, 10:46 PM Post #5 |
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HOLY CARP!!!
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I thought that too. But, what if a blind person has someone drive them to the bank? |
| And how are you today? | |
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| bachophile | Nov 29 2006, 12:50 AM Post #6 |
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HOLY CARP!!!
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one thing ive always found upsetting is the lack of 1 or 2 dollar coins in wide circulation. coins last much longer then paper money and so offer considerable savings as well less bulk in the wallet. euros come in 1 and 2, canadian dollars come in 1 and 2, why not US currency? |
| "I don't know much about classical music. For years I thought the Goldberg Variations were something Mr. and Mrs. Goldberg did on their wedding night." Woody Allen | |
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| dolmansaxlil | Nov 29 2006, 03:24 AM Post #7 |
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HOLY CARP!!!
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When I went on the overnight field trip last year, the blind student that was in the grade 8 class was with us. I was kind of amazed when he pulled money out of his wallet, and felt across a few $20 bills and a $10 bill before selecting the $5, the appropriate change, and handing it all over. I asked him how he knew which was the $5, and he told me that the newer bills were all Braille marked, and then he pulled out a couple of older bills and identified them for me based on some other features, even though they didn't have braille. I hadn't realized. One of our big goals with this kid was to make him as independent as possible, and it was wonderful to see that paying for a purchase without worrying that he was giving the wrong amount was possible. All of our paper money is the same size, but he's learned to recognize other features purely by touch. It was pretty cool to watch. |
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"Your first 10,000 photographs are your worst." ~ Henri Cartier-Bresson My Flickr Photostream | |
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| Dewey | Nov 29 2006, 04:19 AM Post #8 |
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HOLY CARP!!!
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Besides the idea of making it easier for the blind to use paper money - which is a logical goal - I'm glad that the government is being pushed to make the same sorts of "reasonable accommodation" to the disabled that they have forced private sector entities to make. I really grow tired of the public sector continually exempting itself from the mandates it dictates to others. The arguments "But we're the government," "That would make it more difficult for us," and "This is just the way we've always done it" ring really hollow to me. I'm not a big fan of legislating from the bench, but I think that this was a case where a judge interpreted the actual implications of an existing law correctly. |
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"By nature, i prefer brevity." - John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, p. 685. "Never waste your time trying to explain yourself to people who are committed to misunderstanding you." - Anonymous "Oh sure, every once in a while a turd floated by, but other than that it was just fine." - Joe A., 2011 I'll answer your other comments later, but my primary priority for the rest of the evening is to get drunk." - Klaus, 12/31/14 | |
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| Daniel\ | Nov 29 2006, 04:22 AM Post #9 |
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Fulla-Carp
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Sign me up for helping the blind. I mean really if 180 other countries can do it I think the republic will survive. |
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| John D'Oh | Nov 29 2006, 05:13 AM Post #10 |
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MAMIL
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I'm not blind, I'm a stoopid foreigner. I really struggle with US money as it's all one colour and all one size. Sad but true. Stop discriminating against stoopid foreigners!
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| What do you mean "we", have you got a mouse in your pocket? | |
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| apple | Nov 29 2006, 05:23 AM Post #11 |
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one of the angels
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reminds me of Kansas City's City Hall... a blind man had a concession stand - had it for years. you would tell him the denomination of the bill you gave him.. he would reject the opportunity for commerce if he did not recognize your voice or there were no witnesses. i came out the elevator once and there was a major scuffle going on. Apparently some guy tried to fake it.. told him he had a twenty. 2 city workers were BEATING this guy up for trying to rip off the blind man. Yes! |
| it behooves me to behold | |
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| apple | Nov 29 2006, 05:25 AM Post #12 |
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one of the angels
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i know a fair number of blind people.. that's my little brothers 'mission' and my mom own's a retired seeing eye dog.. her third. anyway, they need help with many things. bills, correspondence, travelling. Braille money seems like overkill to me. if i were the government i'd just provide more assistance so they did not have to live at substinence level without employment. |
| it behooves me to behold | |
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| Riley | Nov 29 2006, 05:38 AM Post #13 |
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HOLY CARP!!!
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And what about illiterate people? If the money is all one colour, how are they supposed to tell the difference? |
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| John D'Oh | Nov 29 2006, 05:53 AM Post #14 |
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MAMIL
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What about colour blind illiterate people with no hands? |
| What do you mean "we", have you got a mouse in your pocket? | |
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| The 89th Key | Nov 29 2006, 07:54 AM Post #15 |
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I just want to know if the judge, after making the ruling, ended by saying, "....and that's my two cents." |
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| George K | Nov 29 2006, 08:03 AM Post #16 |
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Finally
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A guide to GKSR: Click "Now look here, you Baltic gas passer... " - Mik, 6/14/08 Nothing is as effective as homeopathy. I'd rather listen to an hour of Abba than an hour of The Beatles. - Klaus, 4/29/18 | |
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| ivorythumper | Nov 29 2006, 08:37 AM Post #17 |
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I am so adjective that I verb nouns!
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I saw braille on a Koala baby changing station. That is one task that I would not want to have to do by feel and smell alone. |
| The dogma lives loudly within me. | |
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| ivorythumper | Nov 29 2006, 08:40 AM Post #18 |
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I am so adjective that I verb nouns!
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I'll give you a helpful hint, John -- I tell them apart by the big numbers in the corners. |
| The dogma lives loudly within me. | |
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| John D'Oh | Nov 29 2006, 10:13 AM Post #19 |
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MAMIL
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Sadly mine all have small numbers in the corner. I'd be interested to see some with big numbers for training purposes if you'd like to send some over. |
| What do you mean "we", have you got a mouse in your pocket? | |
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| The 89th Key | Nov 29 2006, 10:23 AM Post #20 |
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One project I've worked on requires ADA 508-compliancy (i.e., the product has to be accessible to the deaf and blind). The ironic thing, is it's a product for NEI (National Eye Institute) and the product is a vision test! I'm pretty sure if you are blind, you aren't going to pass the vision test!!! :lol: :lol: Ok, I'll shut up now before I get fired. |
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| Daniel\ | Nov 29 2006, 02:17 PM Post #21 |
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Fulla-Carp
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Probably a good idea. |
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| jon-nyc | Nov 29 2006, 02:43 PM Post #22 |
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Cheers
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My reaction was 'its a shame that Treasury had to be told to do this'. Especially since they just got through redesiging all the bills. As someone with a legally blind family member, it seems like a reasonable accomodation to me. |
| In my defense, I was left unsupervised. | |
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| dolmansaxlil | Nov 29 2006, 02:50 PM Post #23 |
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HOLY CARP!!!
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Of course they need help with things. And some more money should be put in to giving them assistance. But they should also be able to buy basic items WITHOUT assistance. That's what this 13 year old blind kid was able to do (and this kid didn't even have light awareness), so I figure if putting some features into paper money can offer some independence, then it's worth doing. After all, lack of independence is probably the most difficult thing to cope with if you're blind. |
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"Your first 10,000 photographs are your worst." ~ Henri Cartier-Bresson My Flickr Photostream | |
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| apple | Nov 29 2006, 03:19 PM Post #24 |
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one of the angels
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not against the idea at all. it sounds great! just suggesting that if the gov. is going to spend 20 million to accomidate the change. the blind themselves might like to offer their perspective on the issue. It is possible to exist without paper money.. My friend Tina gets cash in twenties.. she knows exactly how much money she should get back.. i don't think any one would dare screw her but i'm sure their are some sickos who'd be glad to pocket some change at a blind person's expense. |
| it behooves me to behold | |
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| DivaDeb | Nov 29 2006, 03:51 PM Post #25 |
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HOLY CARP!!!
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I have terrible vision but I am sighted. My aunt is blind. On early trips to other countries, I recall thinking "DANG! this would really make a difference for Freddie" (yes, my aunt's name is Freddie) I never had any problem getting the bills snuggled into my wallet, David, maybe you needed a different style of billfold. The blind have already weighed in on the issue, it's the American Council for the Blind who have suggested options for improvement. They're good suggestions. Independence is important. People will cheat other people, the easier you make it for them to do that, the more likely they are to try it. Some blind people may have others protecting them from cheats, but a lot don't. I used to be a bank teller and we now own businesses where cash changes hands quickly. It's *much* less likely that even sighted peole will miss being counted back the wrong change if the bills don't all look and feel exactly alike. I don't see a downside to, at the very least, changing the sizing of the bills. Our coins are already different sizes, but you can't pay for everything with coins. They should stop trying to reissue that damn heavy dollar coin and spend the money on making the currency less of an obstacle to the indepence of blind people. |
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