It Might Be Costly To Change Bills, But Is Needed

I always felt sorry for the blind when it comes to money and assumed that many sadly get terribly ripped off as a result of our currency being so uniform in size from note to note. My suspicions were fueled more so recently after the release a few years back of the great film Ray , and there is a particularly pertinent scene takes place many may or may not be familiar with.

For those that aren't, it's an extraordinary biopic of Ray Charles played immaculately by Jamie Foxx which demonstrates that Charles had difficulty early on in his career while on the road with money, always demanding that he be payed in dollar bills for the obvious reason, and getting ripped off frequently by promoters and even his own managers .

This occurred until a tour bus driver he befriends then becomes his personal assistant that watches over him and his affairs, one who himself ultimately rips off Charles along the way after years of loyal service according to the film, a movie in which Charles had full participation in leading right into his death at the movie's completion ironically.

So back to the story the treasury department is now being sued in order to alter our currency for the benefit of the blind and disabled which I myself am all for and wonder why it has taken this long for something to have been done in this regard until now.

Court says money discriminates against blind people:

My Way News -"WASHINGTON (AP) - The U.S. discriminates against blind people by printing paper money that makes it impossible for them to distinguish among the bills' varying values, a federal appeals court ruled Tuesday.

The ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit upholds a decision by a lower court in 2006. It could force the Treasury Department to redesign its money. Suggested changes have ranged from making bills different sizes to printing them with raised markings.

The American Council for the Blind sued for such changes but the Treasury Department has been fighting the case for about six years.

'I don't think we should have to rely on people to tell us what our money is,' said Mitch Pomerantz, the council's president.

The U.S. acknowledges the design hinders blind people but it argued that blind people have adapted. Some relied on store clerks to help them, some used credit cards and others folded certain corners to help distinguish between bills.

The court ruled 2-1 that such adaptations were insufficient. The government might as well argue that, since handicapped people can crawl on all fours or ask for help from strangers, there's no need to make buildings wheelchair accessible, the court said." continued

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