Court says money discriminates against blind people

[sweeps]

We may see more changes to paper currency. This time to accommodate the visually impaired.

Court says money discriminates against blind people - Yahoo! News

[jIM_Ohio]

Yeah, the porn industry is next- Playboy will be required to make centerfolds in braille by Jan uary of 2009.

not original- got that from deperate housewives last weekend.

Then I am sure the blind motorists association will lobyy for braile stop signs and braille markers on the road (so blind people can drive with one hand on steering wheel and one hand on road).

When will the insanity end? I am a white male and feel like a minority.

[poundwise]

I'm typically anti-litigation myself, however, I don't see the big deal here. They redesign the money every few years now anyway; what's the problem with incorporating something for the blind into a future change?

If they can take the time and incur the costs to make 50 versions of state quarters, then they ought to be able to manage this.

On the other side, it does raise other questions, however: Do blind people use credit/debit cards? I assume that they do. If so, don't they still have to rely on clerks or companions to read or check receipts for them, etc.? How do blind people shop for items, in general? Price/shelf tags aren't in braille. Again, wouldn't they still be reliant on another person?

[PrincessPerky]

In general I disagree with minority catering, but I can see where money is a major issue...only coins can be told apart by feel, so how is a blind person to know if they received the right change?

course I don't know how much work it would be to make money have..bumps

[zakity]

Oh no! They better not change the size and have different sized bills. I won't be able to deal with that. I am OCD. I like the bills to be all piled up together in amount order and folded in half. If they are different sizes, they won't all line up.

[Caoineag]

It took them long enough to do this. This case has been in the works for years. Given that most other nations have different size bills, its a little ridiculous that its easier for a blind person to live life anywhere else in the world than in America.

As to needing help with other items, for the most part, the blind are really good at memorizing locations and items so they don't need help all the time. I regularly see blind people riding my bus without assistance. As to the credit cards and debit cards, they are traceable, cash is not. You can figure out who ripped you off on a card purchase but tracking where someone took a $10 instead of a $5 can be a lot harder.

[Sporkman]

When will the insanity end? I am a white male and feel like a minority.

Yeah, it's tough out there. Life can be pretty unfair sometimes.

But hey, look at the bright side - at least you're white, male, and can see.

[Gruntina]

(Sorry if I come off really sensitive which might be implied to others but I feel strongly on this subject and my only intent is to educate on the small information of what I know about dissabilites so others may know the real picture and not assumption by what they don’t know) I know several people that are blind or have usher syndrome (partial blindness).

Almost all of them use cash to avoid being gyped so much and to have more control over their own money in a way that they do not have to depend on others.

Usually their wallets have several money slots where all the dollar bills are in one pocket, the five's in the other and so on. They pull the amount they need from memory. Normally a trusted person at home wills double check for them to know it is in correct order. If you can count your money and know right away how much you have seems to be the better option than to wait until someone read the bank statement or online banking account to check for you to make sure everything is in order when using the debit card.
Equal Access laws are often misunderstood by many people making them believe we need to do something different for those with disabilities such as holding their hands for them.

For example, all the doctor offices and places where I need to make an appointment think I always have a sign language interpreter following me around all the time because I am deaf. Should a blind person always need somone around to count their money for them?

I will never forget at a burger fast food restaurant where you give your order, pay and then wait for your number to be called out to pick up your meal. (I write my orders before hand on paper (never get the wrong orders this way smile)). The cashier was saying he will bring my order to me since I cannot hear the speaker. I was joking that he should do that for everyone that came in otherwise it was not equal access. He gave me a look and asked what would be a better way. I politely mentioned that he can bring to management that we need a visual screen that shows the number while the speaker says the number so anyone has the same option. Now that would be equal access and not "holding my hands".

Putting Braille on the paper money is not going to hurt or affect anyone other than make it easier for the blind to join the general population with a little more independence. If I recall right, I believe Canada has already done this. Also people with disabilities are not second class citizens.

[sounderella]

Eh I'm indifferent. For people who are so heated about it, just think, braile money would make it even more difficult to counterfeit