A Possible Solution to Discriminatory Currency

I was at a drive through ATM this evening. Waiting for the transaction to finish processing, I read this sign posted under the screen (next to a jack for standard headphones or earbuds):

AUDITORY ASSISTANCE AVAILABLE FOR THE VISUALLY IMPAIRED

The first thing that went through my mind when I read that was, "Why would a blind person use a drive through ATM?" Next, I thought about how U.S. currency discriminates against the blind and visually impaired.

I remember reading several articles over the last few years about the new anti-counterfeiting measures they added to the redesigned currency: color changing ink, watermarks, microprinting, and the little magnetic strips that have the bill's denomination written on it. In these articles I remembered how some people still have issues with the currency because every bill in circulation is exactly the same size. Other countries, I believe, have different sized bills so you can tell them apart without looking at them. Euros come in several colors and have raised printing so visually impaired people can discern the differences between the notes.

While the new U.S. Currency designs are different from what they were in the past (purple-tinged fins and orange-tinted sawbucks), they are still basically green and nearly impossible to tell apart by touch.

Since ATMs all over have Braille on their buttons (even the drive through machines strangely), wouldn't it make sense to put the denomination on each bill in Braille as well? I doubt I am the first person to consider this, but I think this makes the most sense. It makes more sense than putting Braille on drive through ATMs.

Comments

Slyfox said…
As usual your thoughts are interesting. It is great to know someone who uses their common sense and knowledge to offer insights into people who are not born equal !

There are far to many handicapped people who are forgotten by those self centered individuals who always forget that we are not all equal in society.

Thanks Lomnoir
December 11, 2009 at 11:00 AM
Aaron said…
There is a show on the Science network that covered the Australian currency and how it is both the hardest in the world to duplicate (printed on thin sheets of plastic, not paper or cloth ((like US)). In the article they had an aside on how the US is one of the only major countries in the world that doesn't print its montary notes with braille or some sort of additional aid for the blind.
December 11, 2009 at 1:54 PM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Cigars, Bananas, and Short, Blunt Swords

The three objects mentioned in the title refer to a line uttered by Dr. Niles Crane in an episode of Frasier . In that episode, the main plot involves Dr. Frasier Crane working to analyze a persistent dream he has (where he finds himself in bed with a male colleague). When Frasier relays the details of this dream to his brother (a fellow psychiatrist) Niles wryly asks, “Are there images of cigars, bananas, or short, blunt swords?” This deadpan joke about Freudian latency in my opinion describes the source of some people’s animosity and criticism of President Obama. The vitriol goes back nearly two years when Senator Obama began his run for the presidency. People all over the country during the primary season and through the general campaign expressed their concern about the possibility of someone like Obama becoming President. Once he was elected, these feelings metastasized into the Birther movement for those people whose bigotry stands out overtly. For others who congregate in Tea P
Read more

Hamster Wheel of the Day

Remember the apocryphal story circulating the news and internet about Clinton staffers performing all sorts of pranks as they left the White House? While people still argue the veracity of that incident, I doubt it reaches the level of pettiness exhibited by President Bush towards President Elect Obama.
Read more