Feeling short-changed

By Theresa Edo / MetroWest Daily News Staff

Friday, March 4, 2005

Kevin Heaton of Ashland is working with activists to persuade the U.S. to add tactile features to paper money. (Milton Amador photo)

Heaton, 25, who is visually impaired, is working with an independent group of blind and sighted activists called OurMoneyToo.org to shed some light on an issue that is decades old -- adding tactile features, that is, anything that can be felt, to U.S. paper currency.

Since American paper money is all the same size, shape and texture, it is impossible to distinguish between bills without looking at them. Keeping tabs on paper money can slow down sighted people, but it causes constant problems for people who are blind or visually impaired, said Heaton, an Ashland resident.

"We just want money that would be accessible to everyone," said Heaton, who graduated last spring from Westfield State College with a degree in political science.

Members of the Massachusetts Alliance of Vision Impaired Students this fall established the group and its Web site, www.OurMoneyToo.org. The site provides information on currency with tactile features and ways to contact members of Congress.

OurMoneyToo.org is hosting an event Wednesday, noon to 2 p.m., in Boston's City Hall Plaza to raise awareness for its cause. Members will be imprinting Braille on money [only as a symbolic action; we are not advocating the use of Braille on currency--ed.] and displaying examples of foreign currency with different tactile features.

"We chose this issue because it's do-able. Other countries have done it," said OurMoneyToo.org member Alison Roberts of Arlington. "We change our currency every few years anyway to keep ahead of counterfeiters. Why not include this?"

More than 100 countries have already incorporated size variation or some other distinctive tactile feature to make their paper currency easier to use, the group said. Canadian dollars have a system of raised symbols; British pounds can be distinguished by size; and Euros use a combination of features.

"It's not fair to ask blind people to be more organized with their money," said Roberts.

People who are blind must fold their bills in different ways, keep them in separate compartments in their wallet or simply trust that others are not switching bills without their knowledge. Or, they must purchase reading machines, often priced near $300, that, like vending machines, often do not work with anything but crisp, new bills.

"When I was in high school, I wasn't able to work as a cashier," said Heaton. "A cashier is an entry-level job. But it was hard to get."

Opponents say it is too costly and too involved to update the entire American system for exchanging money. But advocates of tactile features on paper currency say it could benefit everyone.

"Some people would say it is an accommodation for people who are blind, but I say it enhances their independence," said Dennis Polselli, chairman of Framingham's Disability Commission.

Polselli, who is blind, said he believes the U.S. Treasury Department should take a closer look at the issue.

"The government gives us all kinds of excuses," said Polselli, Disabilities Service Coordinator for Framingham State College. "It almost seems offensive that we would have to launch a lobbying effort for something that seems so obvious."

State Rep. Tom Sannicandro, D-Ashland, believes changing paper currency is an important issue to review, but the question remains how to get it done.

"It's an easy thing for the government to fix, and it would help everyone," said Sannicandro.

Sannicandro said he urges anyone concerned about this or any issue to lobby their legislator, both via letters and in person.

(Article Source)