Digging deeper: the law doesn't matter

Although the example of "how to think like an economist" is a good one for Americans (and not so good for Japanese), there are deeper lessons here. The first is presented by the author. It's true that the economic argument is irrelevant in the presence of the law, but then we can do the exercise again, and ask the economist: is there a reason for this law?
- It's probably not that it's so important to blind people. Rather, it's that the low cost of not having two types means that the manufacturers and banks didn't bother to get the law changed.
And another suggestion for further examination: why does the U.S. have drive-up ATMs and Japan doesn't?