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Daylight Saving Time — End it, don’t extend it

“Facts are stubborn things; and whatever may be our wishes, our inclinations, or the dictates of our passion, they cannot alter the state of facts and evidence.” — John Adams, Argument in Defense of the British Soldiers in the Boston Massacre Trials, 4 December 1770.

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     Supporters of year-round daylight saving time argue: Changing the clocks twice a year really stinks. Let’s keep the clocks set to the wrong time year-round. They think the government can give them more daylight by tampering with the clocks, which is like thinking you can gain or lose weight by tampering with your scale.

     Supporters of year-round daylight saving time argue that folks have become habituated more to daylight saving time, observing it 8 months every year, than to standard time; but this is because lawmakers forced it onto us. If this bad habit is passed onto little children who are learning how to tell time, when will the bad habit ever be broken?

     Supporters of year-round standard time argue: Changing the clocks twice a year really stinks, and forces people to observe the wrong time of day when daylight saving time is in effect. End it, don’t extend it. Let’s not kick the can down the road and burden future generations with the wrong time. Over the years, businesses will adapt, using winter hours and summer hours, same as libraries do. Let’s keep the clocks set to the time that most closely approximates their actual mean solar time. If you want a long sunlit afternoon, then work from 7:00 to 16:00 standard time, which is the same as 8:00 to 17:00 daylight saving time. Petition your employer, but don’t try to force everybody to keep their clocks set to the wrong time.

A State can exempt herself from daylight saving time without federal approval. See 15 U.S. Code § 260a(a)(1), but year-round daylight saving time requires an Act of Congress.