During my first few months in the US, it used to take me a little extra time to sort out the dollar bills in my purse. Being used to currency notes in India and Europe that provide a different look (size, color) for different denominations, the uniform look of the US dollar took a while to get used to. I realized with some discomfort that I could not pull out a one, five, ten or twenty with only a cursory glance into my billfold. I had to "read" the money before I handed it over to the cashier and the same care was needed when receiving change. The need to scrutinize currency during transactions continues after many years of handling US money – only I do it much faster now, having become familiar with several distinct visual markers on each denomination. But for those who are blind or severely visually impaired, the uniform size and shape (color being irrelevant in this case) of US dollars is a daily predicament. So much so that a court ruling has proclaimed the design of the American currency discriminatory.
WASHINGTON – Close your eyes, reach into your wallet and try to distinguish between a $1 bill and a $5 bill. Impossible? It’s also discriminatory, a federal appeals court says.
Since all paper money feels pretty much the same, the government is denying blind people meaningful access to the currency, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled Tuesday. The decision could force the Treasury Department to make bills of different sizes or print them with raised markings or other distinguishing features.
The American Council of the Blind sued for such changes, but the government has been fighting the case for about six years.
The U.S. acknowledges the current design hinders blind people, but it argues that they have adapted. Some rely on store clerks to help, some use credit cards and others fold certain corners to help distinguish between bills.
"I don’t think we should have to rely on people to tell us what our money is," said Mitch Pomerantz, the Council of the Blind president. …
The court ruled 2-1 that such adaptations were insufficient under the Rehabilitation Act. The government might as well argue that there’s no need to make buildings accessible to wheelchairs because handicapped people can crawl on all fours or ask passers-by for help, the court said.
"Even the most searching tactile examination will reveal no difference between a $100 bill and a $1 bill. The secretary has identified no reason that requires paper currency to be uniform to the touch," Judge Judith W. Rogers wrote for the majority.
Courts don’t decide how to design currency. That’s up to the Treasury Department, and the ruling forces the department to address what the court called a discriminatory problem.
That could still take years. But since blindness becomes more common with age, people in their 30s and 40s should know that, when they get older, "they will be able to identify their $1 bills from their fives, tens and twenties," said Pomerantz, of the Council of the Blind.
Redesigned bills could also mean more job opportunities, since employers often hesitate to hire blind workers for jobs handling money, said Charlson, of the Perkins School for the Blind.
"When there are so few things in your life that you’ve got total control over, being able to even take care of your own money is such a big step, without requiring someone to tell you whether you’ve got enough money to go out and get a beer or have a hamburger," she said.
The government could ask for a rehearing by the full appeals court or challenge the decision to the Supreme Court.
Australian and Indian currency bills pictured below:
Accidental Blogger 
10 responses to “In God We (Blindly) Trust”
One would think that with all the forgery-proof features that they can add to the currency, it would be a cinch to design something that could help legally blind people identify the notes (embossed indicators or such). It’s a pity that this kind of thing has to even go to court, and even worse that the US government is thinking of fighting it all the way to the Supreme Court.
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I am surprised that this is happening in the US, which is much more friendly to the physically challenged than most other countries..
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The US never ceases to surprise me. From what i know of the place(from NRIs, from what i read and have seen during a brief visit), its systems are highly streamlined and very efficient, making day to day life easy for the people. But certain things surprise me. Like this currency bill business.Strange that a society which provides for the handicapped in road, building constructions and vaious govt schemes should so stiffly resist this very sensible and essential move to make the bills friendly to the visually challenged!
another thing that confuses me is the election process. it’s so complicated.right from the primaries to the real thing. to date i cant quite understand that Florida fiasco during the Bush-Al Gore tie.
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I too was thinking that an embossed marker – raised numerals indicating the value of the note for example, shouldn’t be such a monumental challenge for the currency designers at the US Mint.
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The problem might lie in pulling back all notes currently in circulation. Phasing those out to bring in only the newer visually-impaired-friendly features might be a logistical nightmare. But that shouldn’t prevent them from making a start in providing such features in currency.
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Sujatha: Your intuitions about both sides of the argument are excellent– you should be a disability lawyer! In fact, the ease of providing a mechanism to make bills accessible (anything from embossed indicators to different sized bills), and the fact that many countries already provide currency that includes such features was central to the court’s decision. The Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and its implementing regulations provide that the federal government has an affirmative obligation to make a reasonable accommodation to an otherwise qualified individual’s disability limitations unless doing so would impose “an undue hardship.” As you guessed, the problems and costs related to taking old bills out of circulation were, in turn, central to the “undue hardship” arguments posed by those not in support of the case. As others have pointed out, however, the same problems arise every time new currency of any sort is put into or taken out of circulation.
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Thanks, Anna,I’m quite flattered.Though I think I am rather too old to switch professions at this point (not to mean it can’t be done- one of my friends moved from engineering to psychology a few years ago).
Considering that the average life of a dollar bill is about 18 months, that of a 20 dollar bill about 25 months, and 60 months for the 100 dollar bills, if the government were to institute a phasing out of older bills, with redesigned bills, it could be done over approximately 5 years. All it needs is the will to do it, without leaning upon excuses like ‘undue hardship’. Let’s hope that a new administration next year will stop fighting this ruling and get on with the plan.
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I have thought the same about the US currency for years. In most other countries you can distinguish the different notes almost immediately, or at least it does not take long to figure it out. As you have said when in the USA you have to be constantly aware of what you are paying out or receiving in change. For the most advanced country in the world some things just do not seem right. Embossed indicators would be a great way to distinguish the difference in the bills for those with visual problems.
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Hello
I read your post about currency and how we trust in GOD…I would request you to read my blog at http://www.colorss.blogspot.com/ about Currency Indicator Tool for Visually Impaired – I am presently doing a required need assessment to find out the real need for this device. So far so good we are doing well. Look forward soon we would be launching this cute, little and sexy mechanical device that is of course cheap for the visually impaired population of India.
Looking ahead to hear soon
you can reach me on anand.koti@gmail.com
Kind Regards,
Anand K
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A better article on the money issue is here at Faith and Facts – http://www.faithandfacts.com/2009/02/26/should-we-keep-in-god-we-trust/
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