Commodity-Based Money: Good for the Blind and the Sighted
In a recent court ruling, it was determined that US Federal Reserve Notes (I won’t insult your intelligence by calling them “money”) discriminate against the visually impaired because there is no way to distinguish different denominations by touch. Inevitably this led to hearings in the House Banking committee, which thankfully includes Congressman Ron Paul, who pointed out the obvious: If we had a free market for currency, there would be no need for such a lawsuit, because the visually impaired could choose to use currency that met their needs—just like everyone else.
It is well known that I am a proponent of sound, commodity-backed currency. Anyone who has ever felt the heft of a gold or silver coin, noticed the variation in size and design among different denominations of precious metal coins, or examined the different types of reeding, incusing, and other edge designs, recognizes that coins are far superior to paper bills in terms of their ability to be distinguishable solely by touch.
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