Chicago Tribune Editorial - Is that $20--or $5?
Chicago Tribune Editorial - Is that $20--or $5?
Copyright © 2006, Chicago Tribune
Published December 9, 2006
Some 3.3 million Americans are legally blind or have very limited vision. Should U.S. paper currency be redesigned to make it easier for that 1 percent of the nation to tell the difference between bill denominations? Yes, it should, U.S. District Court Judge James Robertson ruled last week in a case brought by the American Council of the Blind. The judge decreed the U.S. has illegally discriminated against the blind. He gave the government 30 days to come up with a fix.
Before you dismiss this as overkill, consider that 180 countries issue paper currency and the U.S. is the only one that doesn't make some kind of design accommodation to help the blind.
Euro denominations come in different sizes and colors. They also have large raised numerals and foil features located in one place on smaller bills and in another on larger bills. Denominations of the redesigned Japanese yen can be distinguished by touch; the Swiss franc has raised digits and perforated numerals. Canadian dollars have various tactile features; Australia's dollars come in different sizes and colors.
If 179 countries can figure this out, why can't the U.S.? This is not a new issue. Congress has tried to force change more than half a dozen times over the last 27 years. All those efforts fizzled. In that time, Treasury had made major changes to U.S. paper currency twice, in 1996 and 2004. Meanwhile, people with impaired vision struggled to differentiate their bills. Some fold different denominations into various shapes, keep them in separate pockets or parts of their wallets, or rely on the kindness and honesty of strangers. ("Can you tell me if I've given you a $5 bill or a $20 bill?")
The bureau has estimated the one-time costs of making various size or tactile changes to paper currency. It would cost $437 million to $528 million to print bills in different sizes. Other options are to add embossed features ($46 million), foil features ($51 million) or perforate the bills ($75 million). Each option would raise government operating costs, as did the last two redesigns. (They cost a combined $147 million and added $56 million in annual costs.) Making any one of these changes would not break the bank, Judge Robertson pointed out. The bureau has spent an average $420 million a year to make currency over the last decade.
The government's main argument seemed to be not so much cost, but security. These changes would make U.S. currency easier to counterfeit, government attorneys argued. Robertson dismissed that as "utterly unpersuasive." He also called "fairly absurd" the argument that any drastic change to U.S. currency would make it harder for foreigners to recognize and trust it.
The U.S. is the most technologically proficient nation on Earth. It can find a way to make sure that people can distinguish a $5 bill from a $20 bill by sight--or touch.
Copyright © 2006, Chicago Tribune
Published December 9, 2006
Some 3.3 million Americans are legally blind or have very limited vision. Should U.S. paper currency be redesigned to make it easier for that 1 percent of the nation to tell the difference between bill denominations? Yes, it should, U.S. District Court Judge James Robertson ruled last week in a case brought by the American Council of the Blind. The judge decreed the U.S. has illegally discriminated against the blind. He gave the government 30 days to come up with a fix.
Before you dismiss this as overkill, consider that 180 countries issue paper currency and the U.S. is the only one that doesn't make some kind of design accommodation to help the blind.
Euro denominations come in different sizes and colors. They also have large raised numerals and foil features located in one place on smaller bills and in another on larger bills. Denominations of the redesigned Japanese yen can be distinguished by touch; the Swiss franc has raised digits and perforated numerals. Canadian dollars have various tactile features; Australia's dollars come in different sizes and colors.
If 179 countries can figure this out, why can't the U.S.? This is not a new issue. Congress has tried to force change more than half a dozen times over the last 27 years. All those efforts fizzled. In that time, Treasury had made major changes to U.S. paper currency twice, in 1996 and 2004. Meanwhile, people with impaired vision struggled to differentiate their bills. Some fold different denominations into various shapes, keep them in separate pockets or parts of their wallets, or rely on the kindness and honesty of strangers. ("Can you tell me if I've given you a $5 bill or a $20 bill?")
The bureau has estimated the one-time costs of making various size or tactile changes to paper currency. It would cost $437 million to $528 million to print bills in different sizes. Other options are to add embossed features ($46 million), foil features ($51 million) or perforate the bills ($75 million). Each option would raise government operating costs, as did the last two redesigns. (They cost a combined $147 million and added $56 million in annual costs.) Making any one of these changes would not break the bank, Judge Robertson pointed out. The bureau has spent an average $420 million a year to make currency over the last decade.
The government's main argument seemed to be not so much cost, but security. These changes would make U.S. currency easier to counterfeit, government attorneys argued. Robertson dismissed that as "utterly unpersuasive." He also called "fairly absurd" the argument that any drastic change to U.S. currency would make it harder for foreigners to recognize and trust it.
The U.S. is the most technologically proficient nation on Earth. It can find a way to make sure that people can distinguish a $5 bill from a $20 bill by sight--or touch.
posted by Carlos T Mock @ 8:55 AM
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