$1? $20? Only USA makes bills hard for blind to use

[DeclinetoState]

Thu Dec 14, 6:37 AM ET

Of the more than 180 nations that issue paper currency, the United States is the only one whose bills don't have features making them recognizable to the visually impaired.

Because all U.S. currency has the same size, shape and feel, the blind can't tell a ten from a twenty without assistance. Last month, a federal judge ruled that the practice discriminates against the disabled. He ordered the U.S. Treasury to find ways for the blind to more easily distinguish different denominations.

That gave the Bush administration a choice. It could explore the relatively inexpensive accommodations used by other nations. Or it could fight Judge James Robertson's ruling. On Tuesday, Treasury appealed, saying it would be too difficult and costly to implement. Talk about short-sighted. With a little thought, Treasury could solve the problem and save money, too.

Compared with the $420 million the Bureau of Engraving and Printing spends each year, changing the currency amounts to small change, and the cost isn't a good enough reason to thwart action that could assist 1.3 million blind Americans.

. . .

Another way to help the blind is to replace the dollar bill with a dollar coin easily distinguishable from a quarter. Yahoo! News (http://news.yahoo.com/s/usatoday/20061214/cm_usatoday/120onlyusamakesbillshardforblindtouse)

They've tried dollar coins; people don't like them and rarely use them.

Printing the dollar value in Braille on the bill might be useful, not only to make the money available to the blind, but also to make counterfeiting more difficult.

[BEST45CAL]

Yahoo! News (http://news.yahoo.com/s/usatoday/20061214/cm_usatoday/120onlyusamakesbillshardforblindtouse)

They've tried dollar coins; people don't like them and rarely use them.

Printing the dollar value in Braille on the bill might be useful, not only to make the money available to the blind, but also to make counterfeiting more difficult.

What's wrong with using a credit/debit card? Hell, I never carry cash because I don't have to.

[Gonzo67]

What's wrong with using a credit/debit card? Hell, I never carry cash because I don't have to.


I agree. It's been a LONG time since I've actually carried cash. My debit card is just too handy. The only time I use cash is when I go to the video store to rent DVD's. And if I plan on getting 3 @ $300 each, I just stop at the ATM on the way and get $10 out.

I get somewhat frustrated when I go to the grocery store here, standing in line, waiting for people that want to pay for their groceries with a check. They always wait until after all 10,000 items they are buying are scanned, and THEN they suddenly realize that "Hey! I have to fill out this check!". I've never been behind one that has a check filled out with everything except the dollar amount. They never even bother digging their check book out of that huge Samsonite, knick-knack filled suitcase they call a purse, so it takes them 20 minutes to find the check book and their ID. I'm half way tempted to buy their groceries for them so they can move their ignorant ass out into the parking lot where, hopefully, they'll be run over by ANOTHER ignorant citizen with a huge purse and an over used check book.

All bills get payed on line, using the debit card, it's been a year since I've actually had to buy a stamp.

As for the blind and money, there was a blind man that ran the PX on the Naval base in Pensacola Florida. I attended Photography School there, and this man (for the life of me I can't remember his name) ran the cash register. He was able to distinguish the dollar amounts on bills by touch. I do not know how he did it, but he was able to take paper money, and give paper money correctly, without asking what the bill he was being handed is.

I had suspected that he was not "FULLY" blind, and could see a little, but he swore he was totally blind. But he never told any of us how he did it.

[Kathy30]

Almost anything we do would make it easier for counterfiters. Especially putting braille dots on the bills. Most other countries have money that is so devalued that it's not worth counterfiting. Most likely there will be a horrendous expense and make bills of different sizes.

This is just another case of judicial tyranny. I'm waiting for a liberal judge to declare the Constitution unconstitutional and void it.

[Wolfcounsel]

Another solution to a problem that doesn't exist.:evilgrin:

[BEST45CAL]

Almost anything we do would make it easier for counterfiters. Especially putting braille dots on the bills. Most other countries have money that is so devalued that it's not worth counterfiting. Most likely there will be a horrendous expense and make bills of different sizes.

This is just another case of judicial tyranny. I'm waiting for a liberal judge to declare the Constitution unconstitutional and void it.

Oh damn that's a scary thought. Some weirdo could put the wrong braille on the bills. Now, that would be scary.

Someone needs to invent a kind of portable bill scanner/reader for these people if they're that concerned.

Adding the braille dots is not a big undertaking, but those dots could wear off after a while, plus they will probably mess up the ATM mechanisms because they will probably be thicker than regular bills.

[DoctorDoom]

Speaking of ATMs, what about the Braille keys on drive-up machines? Yeah, I've heard the rationalizations, but no one has addressed how the blind can read the prompts on the video screen, and I have never seen one that gives audible prompts.

[DesertFox]

What Kathy said.

What Wolfie said.

Hey, judge? F*ck you.

[GrocerySacker]

I have never seen one that gives audible prompts.

Really? Almost all of the ATMs around here are outfitted with a headphone jack.

[Un Con Troll Able]

I believe each American currency note should have a microscopic logic and speaker circuit implanted in the bill -- incorporating not only the verbal identity of the bill, but also broadcasting inspirational or informational liberal slogons.

When you press on the head of the person depicted on the bill, the note value and slogan play for the holder.

Examples:

"I'm a twenty! Give me to a poor person!"

"Ten bucks can buy you a lot of guilt relief! Donate to the Che Guevera Freedom Movement!"

"Five dollars will go a long way to providing reproductive freedom for the unwashed! Give to Planned Parenthood!"

"A dollar a day helps keep to DTs away!"