Treasury told to make bills friendlier to blind

[LynneSin]

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15948986/

Treasury told to make bills friendlier to blind
Judge won't say how, but orders government to begin working on changes
MSNBC Political Calendar


Updated: 2 hours, 20 minutes ago
WASHINGTON - 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."



I read this and I remember that scene in the movie Ray (the biopic of Ray Charles, who was blind since childhood) and how he demanded that he was paid all in one dollar bills because it was the only way he could ensure he wasn't being ripped off on his pay.

I don't think it would be difficult to add something to the bills either change the size or put some shiny foil that would be in different locations on each bills. But this is a problem that should be fixed

[Benhurst]

1. This should have been done decades ago. NT