Tuesday, November 28, 2006

US Paper Money Is "Unfair" To The Blind

Or so says a federal judge, noting that the blind can't tell US bills apart because they're all the same size and all feel the same.

On my first trip to Europe at age 9, I marveled at the Dutch guilder notes--they had raised bumps approximately a quarter-inch in diameter on them, one bump for the smallest bill (either 5 or 10 guilders) and an additional bump for each corresponding higher bill.

Over 30 years later, something like that is being suggested for US currency. I wonder, though--what's this judge going to do if the Treasure Department doesn't comply, lock up the Secretary? Somehow I just don't see it.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

"John Marshall has made his decision. Now let him enforce it."

- Andrew Jackson, when told by the Supreme Court that he could not steal Cherokee land.

Anonymous said...

I can't help thinking of all the possibilities of counterfitting money in the slight chance this passes. A blind person obtains counterfit money, and only by feel do they know if its real or not, are caught with it, and their insurance company or social security (probably social security) pays for it. The only hard thing if you're not blind is poking your eye out, because faking blindness these days is out of the question.

Anonymous said...

Um... rule of law?

How embarrassing for us that it takes a judge to rule in favor of common sense for us to make a simple accommodation. The rest of the world seems to have figured this out long ago.

It ain't rocket science.

Anonymous said...

Since there isn't a single line in the Constitution that gives the judiciary any power in this matter, "rule of law" is a misnomer. "Political agenda of a hand wringing activist judge" is more accurate here.

And indeed, since he doesn't have the power to make this decision, he also doesn't have the power to enforce it.