[Blindtlk] Thought this was very interesting to post to us all

Wed Dec 5 16:22:28 UTC 2012

While I have been generally opposed to accessible currency, our latest resolutions have stated that our currency should be made 
accessible as part of any currency redesign.  To me, this approach makes sense rather than having a completely separate currency 
change strictly for accessibility where the cost of such a change would be separate and completely hung on the disabled.  The fact 
that this has not happened is due to a number of reasons, though, but not for a lack of a resolution on our part.

What really upset me about this issue in year's past was the maintaining on other lists that without accessible currency, we 
basically cannot manage our finances.  There have been cases where blind persons have lost control of their finances because 
someone believed that blind people could not responsibly manage finances.  Such cases of which I am aware were not related to the 
lack of accessible currency, but I found it extremely upsetting that people would maintain, with all the battles we have, that the 
lack of accessible currency prevented us from being able to participate in the world when we have been doing so as blind persons 
using other techniques for years.  

Another issue is to figure out how to make money accessible.  I have seen circulated Canadian money that is accessible where I 
could not feel the markings at all.  Some countries have gone to multiple sizes of bills, and while this approach works, it is a 
major change here, and it would have a considerable impact on machines that accept money.  There needs to be careful thought as to 
what will truly make money accessible, and there needs to be more careful thought, in my opinion, as to the arguments for it.  We 
don't need to hand others excuses for saying we can't be responsible for our finances.  I think there might even be a valid case 
for the government to distribute I Bill devices or something similar free of charge as a medium-term solution.  There are just a 
number of aspects that still need to be thought through.

Best regards,

Steve Jacobson

On Tue, 4 Dec 2012 21:46:29 -0500, Mark Tardif wrote:

>Hello, Cheryl.

>I used to be dead set against tactile currency because after all, I have 
>successfully handled U.S. currency for many years without a problem.  Most 
>people either arrange their bills in a certain way or fold the denominations 
>differently, and I have never been ripped off by anyone, I am quite certain 
>by far the vast majority of people would never do that.  However, some 
>people have informed me that the incidence of theft and misrepresentation by 
>a cashier happens more often than I would think.  I also took the trouble of 
>purchasing a money identifier a few years ago and found it to be quite 
>useful.  Also, I have come to believe that if there is something we can do 
>that might make the playing field a little more level, I am not going to be 
>so dead set against it.  I guess it is just the natural tendency to change 
>and evolve as one gets older.  It's kind of like not throwing money back at 
>someone who gives it to me, but finding more mature ways to handle it, 
>unlike what I might have done when I was younger.

>Mark Tardif
>Nuclear arms will not hold you.
>-----Original Message----- 
>From: cheryl echevarria
>Sent: Monday, December 03, 2012 11:54 AM
>To: Blind Talk Mailing List
>Subject: [Blindtlk] Thought this was very interesting to post to us all

>Good morning everyone.
>Even though this is not in the United States, I wanted to post this for us 
>to reconsider for discussion on the topic of US Currency, if other countries 
>such as South Africa can do it then why cannot the USA.
>I found this out today, because I belong to SATH.org, Society for Accessible 
>Travel and Hospitality which is a world wide organization for all people and 
>travel business that focus on people with disabilities.
>Accessible South African Currency notes:
>The new South African Banknotes went officially into circulation on Tuesday, 
>November 6, 2012.  The new banknotes feature an image of former President 
>Nelson Mandela on the frotn with images of the "Big Five" animals on the 
>back of the various banknote denominations.
>The South African Reserve Bank has issued new currency notes with 
>state-of-the-art security features and enhancements for the visually 
>impaired.  Nationa organization of persons with disabilities were consulted 
>in creating the Mandela Series bank notes to ensure that the notes were made 
>to be accessible to visually impaired users. The Bank also conducted 
>training for visually impaired persons to use the new notes, as well as 
>education and public awareness campaigns prior to the launch of the new 
>currency notes.
>Please read.
>If you belong to the Travel & Tourism Division it will be posted there as 
>well.

>Your sister in the NFB
>Cheryl Echevarria

>Disabled Entrepreneur of the Year 2012 of NY State
>Leading the Way in Independent Travel!
>SNG Certified - Accessible Travel Advocate!
>Cheryl Echevarria, 
>Ownerhttp://www.echevarriatravel.com631-456-5394reservations@echevarriatravel.comhttp://www.echevarriatravel.wordpress.com
>2012 Norwegian Cruise Line University Advisory Board Member.
>Echevarria Travel and proud member of the National Federation of the Blind 
>will be holding a year round fundraiser for the http://www.NFBNY.org after 
>Hurricane Sandy and other resources. Any vacation package booked between 
>November 6 2012-November 6, 2013 and vacation must be traveled no later than 
>12/30/2014 a percentage of my earnings will go to the affiliate.  Also is 
>you book a Sandals for couples or Beaches for families and friends resorts 
>vacation, $100.00 per booking will go to the affiliate as well.  You do not 
>need to be a member of the NFB.org, just book through us.
>Thank you.
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