*THE HULL TRUTH is the world's largest FREE network for the discussion of Boating & Fishing. Whether you're researching a new boat, or are a seasoned Captain, you'll find The Hull Truth Boating & Fishing Message Forum contains a wealth of information from Boaters and Sportfishermen around the world.
Welcome to the updated THT!
If you are having trouble signing in, please email feedback@thehulltruth.com with your username and we will help you. We thank you for your patience as we help you access the new site!
Random Quote: You think you used enough dynamite there, Butch?
Illegal Cash: Currency Discriminates Against Blind
May 20, 2008 4:04 PM
In a major ruling that could force changes to the nation’s currency, an influential federal appeals court ruled today that the uniform design of U.S. paper money discriminates against the blind and violates a federal disability law.
The decision, by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, could require significant changes in paper money so that the blind can distinguish between different denominations and more easily and independently use cash.
“The current design of paper money springs from the world of the sighted,” the court said in a 2-1 decision. “Upon casual inspection, anyone with good vision can readily discern the value of U.S. currency; yet even the most searching tactile examination will reveal no difference between a $100 bill and a $1 bill.”
That uniform design, the court said, “appears to have been a result of the type of thoughtlessness and indifference” that the federal Rehabilitation Act, a disability discrimination law, was designed to prohibit.
The United States is one of the few major countries that does not vary the size or design of its currency to distinguish between denominations. Disability advocates argue that the uniform design of paper money denies the blind meaningful access to currency.
“Imagine if you had to rely on the good faith of complete strangers to count your money. It is truly is an unreasonable burden to put on anyone—and that’s really the case with the blind,” said Jeffrey Lovitky, the lawyer for the American Council for the Blind, which challenged the design of paper currency. “In conducting any kind of currency transaction, they are required to rely on the good faith of strangers.”
Lovitky said today’s ruling—the first of its kind by a federal appeals court—was a “landmark” that should force key design changes.
Unless the government takes the case to the Supreme Court, the ruling means the Treasury Department will have to develop proposed changes to the currency.
Some could be simple and effective, Lovitky said.
“There are many different, currently available, technically feasible methods they could choose,” he said.
The Euro, for example, has a small piece of foil on bills that varies in size based on denomination. Canadian currency is embossed with dots. Swedish currency has a texture that could be altered, depending on denomination.
Lovitky said it would cost about $50 million to change the currency, an amount that would be absorbed by the banking system.
The case came about in 2002, when the American Council for the Blind sued, alleging the design of US paper money violates a federal law that prohibits the government from discriminating against people with disabilities.
The government had argued that the design of money did not impose an unreasonable burden on the blind because they had alternatives to cash, such as credit cards, and could rely on portable currency readers or the assistance of strangers. It also argued that changing the currency would be expensive and impact third parties, such as the vending machine industry.
But the appeals court rejected those arguments, calling them unpersuasive, and at one point, “somewhat astounding.”
“The (government’s) argument is analogous to contending that merely because the mobility impaired may be able either to rely on the assistance of strangers or to crawl on all fours in navigating architectural obstacles, they are not denied meaningful access to public buildings,” the court said, in a decision written by Judge Judith Rogers and joined by Judge Thomas Griffith.
Such dependence, the court said, “places the visually impaired at a distinct disadvantage in two-way transactions involving paper currency because they can neither control the actions of those which home they deal nor independently discern whether the paper currency they receive is correct.”
Judge Raymond Randolph dissented, arguing the court had taken up the case prematurely.
[img]../images/emoticons/laugh.gif[/img]I almost posted it too! My title was going to be "Business Opportunity"
I can't believe it's gotten to this level of absurdity when there's a perfectly logical technological solution. Why spend billions to revise the the currency systemwhen there's a simple cost effective solution. Should be ~$30 a pop for how many blind people?
Is there anyone left in Washington with a brain?
__________________ Any Port in a Storm!....currently seeking shelter.
"Lovitky said it would cost about $50 million to change the currency, an amount that would be absorbed by the banking system."
What does this mean...absorbed by the banking system?
TRANSLATION: Passed on to bank customers in the form of lower interest rates paid on savings, higher interest rates on loans, and higher fees for other services.
You wouldn't really expect the banks to actually pay it out of their profits, would you?
Why don't we just make a stiffer punishment for those caught robbing the blind. If the risk out weighs the reward, people stop engaging in certain activities. Why do most of us throw back just undersize fish? If you get caught that fish isn't going to be worth a few hundred bucks or losing your fishing license. Problem solved and it doesn't cost the rest of us $50 Mil.
It's an easy enough fix, Punch/press braille numbers into the corners. Then they don't have to trust a clerk to tell them the right amounts. We can even retro-fit existing currency when the Fed gets it back for washing.
I dont know why some of you guys are getting upset. Most people just prefer to be self-reliant.
More power to 'em!
__________________ I'm not a boat expert, I just read THT!
So Bill, instead of pressing facs and values onto coins maybe the guv'mint should just issue blank metal discs that just say U.S.Money. We can figure out what they're worth by the size.
A braille press can be built right into the ink press. When the currency goes through the final run it gets presses/punched at the same time.
__________________ I'm not a boat expert, I just read THT!
I thought the blind were no longer called "blind" but "visually impaired."
Political correctness is shaping up to be the internal erosion our forefathers warned of...
__________________ - Chris
Guess What?? I got a Fever.. And the only prescription is.. MORE COWBELL!
-2011 Blue Wave 2400 Pure Bay / Yamaha F300 4.2 with Command Link Plus
-2003 Sea Fox 195 Bayfisher - Mercury 125 Saltwater Classic (Sold)
-1994 Wellcraft V-20 Step Lift (Sold)
A braille pattern will prevent bills from being used in machines, I'll bet. I'm all for a simple, inexpensive solution..but when has the government done that?
We, the public, have spent untold $millions on "ADA" compliance, and equal amounts to opportunist "impaired" individuals and their scumbag attorneys who sue for "non-compliance". Sometimes a guy in a wheelchair is just gonna haveta suck it up and realize he can't get to the bottom of the Grand Canyon.
I've got my own impairment..I'm "sensitivity challenged". Be careful, I'll sue you too.
As noted, government money discriminates against the blind.
So do all printed government regulations,
As do all government publications
As do all state and county government road signs
And center lines in public highways
etc,etc,etc.
Pretty much any form of visual communication discriminates against the blind.
Why can't congress address these issues. (ie the people's representatives)
Why must the judidcial branch make money illegal?
If a person is going to tell a blind person he gave him a ten when in fact the blind person gave him a twenty, that type of person would also be entering wrong amounts into the cash register, adding an item to the total count through the register, or just not putting all the items rung up into the bag. How will that be prevented?
You can go on and on about pretend "controls" but in the end an unscrupulous person will put something over on a easy victim no matter what. If one human being can invent a lock, another can always figure out how to bypass it.
U.S. Currency Ruled Discriminatory!! 
