# U.S. government resists altering paper money for blind people **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [December 14, 2006, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-government-resists-altering-paper-money-for-blind-people/384074 "2006-12-14T04:17:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![iano](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@iano](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iano)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2006, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-government-resists-altering-paper-money-for-blind-people/384074/21 "2006-12-14T16:57:24Z")
[QUOTE=An Arky] I’m just not too keen on changing the currency for one (very small) group/one reason. [/QUOTE] Do you understand why the American with Disabilities Act _even exists_? It is for precisely this reason of giving even small segments of the population equal access. Here you are having no problem with using US money, and you say you’re pissed off at how inconvenienced you would be to have money changed? How self-important! You’re not the one with the problem doing basic tasks. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2006, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-government-resists-altering-paper-money-for-blind-people/384074/22 "2006-12-14T17:05:43Z")
[QUOTE=iano] Do you understand why the American with Disabilities Act _even exists_? It is for precisely this reason of giving even small segments of the population equal access. Here you are having no problem with using US money, and you say you’re pissed off at how inconvenienced you would be to have money changed? How self-important! You’re not the one with the problem doing basic tasks. [/QUOTE] He never once said he was pissed off! His posts have been very calm. You’re the one getting upset. ---
**Author:** ![David\_Simmons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9de053/32.png) [@David\_Simmons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/David_Simmons)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2006, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-government-resists-altering-paper-money-for-blind-people/384074/23 "2006-12-14T17:34:41Z")
[QUOTE=An Arky] I’m just not too keen on changing the currency for one (very small) group/one reason. [/QUOTE] Having currency different sizes and different colors benefits everybody. ---
**Author:** ![FRDE](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e68b1a/32.png) [@FRDE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FRDE)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2006, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-government-resists-altering-paper-money-for-blind-people/384074/24 "2006-12-14T17:34:50Z")
[QUOTE=Giles] It’s probably about the right amount to buy a packet of cigarettes in 1970, then. [/QUOTE] About 1974 I could stick two £1 notes in my pocket and go out for a night of debauchement. In 1976 - 9 it was common to get £5 from a cash machine (they had just been invented - well in the UK they were new) ---
**Author:** ![An\_Arky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/87869e/32.png) [@An\_Arky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Arky)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2006, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-government-resists-altering-paper-money-for-blind-people/384074/25 "2006-12-14T18:06:26Z")
[QUOTE=iano] Do you understand why the American with Disabilities Act _even exists_? It is for precisely this reason of giving even small segments of the population equal access. Here you are having no problem with using US money, and you say you’re pissed off at how inconvenienced you would be to have money changed? How self-important! You’re not the one with the problem doing basic tasks. [/QUOTE] I’m sorry you misunderstood my line of thinking. I do support equal access; it’s the right thing to do. I was questioning whether changing the currency size solely to benefit the vision-impaired was practical. That, of course, isn’t the point, but it’s certainly a consideration. Other posters pointed out some things that got me thinking that there could be other benefits to changing the currency sizes, or that there might be other ways of accomplishing the goal of providing equal access to blind folks. I was a bit balky at abruptly decreeing currency size changes for just one group/one purpose. There might be better solutions out there, and we should look at them. And if there are other benefits to changing currency sizes, then that makes the proposition more practical, and I would be much more supportive of it. I am sorry about being somewhat insensitive. I didn’t really mean to be that way. ---
**Author:** ![Reloy3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c68b51/32.png) [@Reloy3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reloy3)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2006, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-government-resists-altering-paper-money-for-blind-people/384074/26 "2006-12-14T19:50:35Z")
Although I generally support helping the blind, and would support a change-over to different sized bills (How a different colored bill would help the blind I don’t get), there is some legitimate cause for resistance to the plan. It isn’t just that the Treasury Department hated blind people and loves to kick puppies. There is a large infrastructure in place in the US centered arround the current bills’ size. Everything from automatic bill recievers (ATMs and vending machines) to cash registers would have to be created. It wouldn’t be fast, easy or cheap. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-government-resists-altering-paper-money-for-blind-people/384074.md?page=1)