We have all heard the saying, “Time is Money.” A frustration for the blind community is that we have to pay a hidden tax, a tax not recognized by the sighted community. It is a tax that you can’t write off. It does not have a line item on tax forms. However, it is an all too real tax for those who are blind. This tax is called the “Time Tax.” So, what is the time tax you ask? In a world that I like to call Hyper-Visual, where everything around us is marketed, geared for and to the sense of sight, the time tax keeps rising for the blind. There are no adjustments for cost of living and maintaining pace with inflation, no, and there is a reason for this. The time tax for the blind is simply never talked about. The reasons are innocent, there isn't some evil Cabal sitting in smoke filled rooms figuring out ways to steal what limited income and opportunities that are available to my community. No, instead it is because, in truth, most people don't take the time to realize just how difficult it is for someone who is blind to operate as they exist on this big blue marble we all call Earth.
Take a moment to consider some of the simple tasks one undertakes in life. An example would be setting the oven temperature on your oven. When your sighted it is such a simple task that you don't even think about it, you just do it. Now imagine being blind, need I say more? We have to either find someone, or wait around until someone who has sight can read the digital numbers in again what I call a world that is geared towards the hyper-visual. Next year we will celebrate the 30th anniversary of the passing of the ADA, Americans with Disabilities Act. The ADA has gone a long way to improve the lives of people in my community. Many establishments utilize Braille and some even use it in conjunction with audio features. Sadly, the technology hasn’t kept pace. In a world where people use Bluetooth headsets or wired headsets with newer adapters, many of the audio features are not available. Couple that with the fact that many who are blind, don't know or have no avenue available to them to learn Braille, the reality is that approximately only 15% of the blind community utilizes Braille. In those instances. Most menus or literature is likely in some drawer or on some shelf gathering dust, most are not current because institutions don't print daily Braille material. Again, the hidden tax creeps in and the blind are forced to pay the time tax because we are expected to live an analog life in a digital world.
So, now you have some reference points, the “Oven” example and the ADA solutions coupled with antiquated technology not keeping pace with the times. You can imagine all the other things that take sight to accomplish. You can begin to understand the hidden tax, the time tax, that the blind are forced to pay. This is why over the past couple of years, Aira has become a solution savior of sorts for me. While this one of a kind technology that has transformed my life and the lives of many can’t remove the “Time-Tax” from our reality, it puts a pretty big dent in the bill that comes due. Aira provides me with real time visual information at the touch of a button. I am instantly connected to a live, highly trained Agent who effectively becomes my eyes to the world. Information once unavailable to me is now just a tap away on my smart phone. The moral of this piece is simple, my life is good, my life with Aira is exceptional.
**The picture below shows the word “Tax” in big bold red font with an analog clock in the background illustrating a pictorial depiction of the “Time-Tax.”
