# Daylight Savings Time: Why is the US congress split on this matter **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [November 6, 2022, 4:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/daylight-savings-time-why-is-the-us-congress-split-on-this-matter/974456 "2022-11-06T04:36:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![snowthx](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowthx/32/10660_2.png) [@snowthx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snowthx)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2022, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/daylight-savings-time-why-is-the-us-congress-split-on-this-matter/974456/41 "2022-11-06T14:17:57Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > Time standards can be legislated, but business hours generally cannot, and if some businesses go with summer hours and others don’t, then it shortens the window during which businesses can assume they can communicate with each other Agree, but this is an issue today. I worked for a company with offices along the west cosst, and Arizona. Twice a year we’d have people missing meetings. I would think if it were left to businesses and individuals to set their summer hours, and leave everything on standard time, it’d be up to them to communicate as needed their availability. ---
**Author:** ![slicedalone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slicedalone/32/12515_2.png) [@slicedalone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slicedalone)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2022, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/daylight-savings-time-why-is-the-us-congress-split-on-this-matter/974456/42 "2022-11-06T14:18:04Z")
I think businesses would be fine with the knowledge that “Oh, now, we can’t contact them first thing in the morning–good thing there are still seven other hours in the working day for us to contact them. Whew!” ---
**Author:** ![flurb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/51bf81/32.png) [@flurb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flurb)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2022, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/daylight-savings-time-why-is-the-us-congress-split-on-this-matter/974456/43 "2022-11-06T14:22:00Z")
To expand on my “people are idiots” argument, the political psychology of any change to policy is that people tend to “pocket” the benefits and dwell on the negatives. So if you make DST permanent, people will see the brighter evenings and say “that’s great” then never think about it again. It just becomes the reality and people move on with their lives and it doesn’t influence how they vote. But the negatives (darker morning) serve as a constant reminder of what they don’t like about the policy. They grumble and harrumph and ask each other “why can’t those lazy morons in Washington do something to fix this?” And then it becomes another element of dissatisfaction with incumbents that a challenger can exploit. Obviously these tendencies can be overcome, but the question for Congress is whether the juice is worth the squeeze on DST. Why risk any potential political blowback on an issue that is so minor in most people’s lives? ---
**Author:** ![steronz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steronz/32/11765_2.png) [@steronz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/steronz)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2022, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/daylight-savings-time-why-is-the-us-congress-split-on-this-matter/974456/44 "2022-11-06T14:25:16Z")
I’m all for changing it, although I think I’d be among the millions who would gripe regardless of which way they went (no DST or permanent DST). But to me, the core issue is that we adhere to this rigid schedule year round despite nature encouraging us not to. Studies are pretty clear that waking kids, especially teenagers, up at 7am is damaging them, but we keep doing it because school has to start at 8 for some reason. Even if it’s pitch black. There’s nothing that says we can’t start our days when the sun comes up and end them with enough time to get home and relax a bit before the sun goes down. Businesses can open at 7 or 8 or 9 depending on the time of year. Work weeks can be 25 or 32 or 40 hours depending on how much daylight is available. We should all be a lot more flexible. Trying to solve this problem by picking which part of the day we have to endure in darkness is silly. ---
**Author:** ![doreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/858c86/32.png) [@doreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doreen)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2022, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/daylight-savings-time-why-is-the-us-congress-split-on-this-matter/974456/45 "2022-11-06T14:33:30Z")
There absolutely is some harm from the time changing twice a year - but some of the articles I’ve read imply that there is a lot of harm from DST itself, which would exist even if there wasn’t any change and DST was in effect year round. But the articles never explain how Seasonal Affective Disorder etc. is affected differently by sunrise not occurring until 8:00 AM vs someone having a job where they have to leave for work before a 7:00 AM sunrise. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2022, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/daylight-savings-time-why-is-the-us-congress-split-on-this-matter/974456/46 "2022-11-06T14:47:46Z")
> [@steronz](#): > > There’s nothing that says we can’t start our days when the sun comes up and end them with enough time to get home and relax a bit before the sun goes down. Businesses can open at 7 or 8 or 9 depending on the time of year. We could, but that would have its own problems. For instance, instead of people missing school or work because they forgot about the DST-related time change, you’d have people missing school or work because they forgot that this was the day the starting time changed from 8 to 9. ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Feldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lord_feldon/32/341_2.png) [@Lord\_Feldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Feldon)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2022, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/daylight-savings-time-why-is-the-us-congress-split-on-this-matter/974456/47 "2022-11-06T14:57:44Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > As I said above, the solution for those looking for an “extra” hour of daylight for summer activities – the original purpose of DST – is to just get up an hour earlier in summer! They do. They even set an official getting-up-earlier date and an official getting-up-later date, so that everyone could do it together. Once we’ve decided to do that, the fact that the number on the clock changes isn’t really a big deal. Clocks and time zones are all contrived. They work for us \*glances nervously at the clock\*. ---
**Author:** ![steronz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steronz/32/11765_2.png) [@steronz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/steronz)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2022, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/daylight-savings-time-why-is-the-us-congress-split-on-this-matter/974456/48 "2022-11-06T15:02:15Z")
Would they really miss it, though? ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2022, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/daylight-savings-time-why-is-the-us-congress-split-on-this-matter/974456/49 "2022-11-06T15:22:04Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > I was a kid at that time, and I remember a lot of uproar over “kids are having to wait for school buses in the dark!” > > And, specifically, this was what happened in the winter months, and particularly in the northern half of the U.S.: for example, here in Chicago, if we were to go to full-time DST, sunrise in the first half of January will be around 8:15 a.m. In Minneapolis, it’d be around 8:50 a.m., in Seattle, it’d be just before 9 a.m. And of course the real problem is that school starts too early, especially for older teens. ---
**Author:** ![Bootb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e19b73/32.png) [@Bootb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bootb)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2022, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/daylight-savings-time-why-is-the-us-congress-split-on-this-matter/974456/50 "2022-11-06T15:30:01Z")
For everybody who wants to make DST permanent, we could just as easily achieve the same effect as shifting all the time zones to the west. So everybody currently in Eastern would be in Atlantic; Central would become Eastern; etc. That would give the idiots their permanent leap forward. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2022, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/daylight-savings-time-why-is-the-us-congress-split-on-this-matter/974456/51 "2022-11-06T15:32:32Z")
> [@Bootb](#): > > For everybody who wants to make DST permanent, we could just as easily achieve the same effect as shifting all the time zones to the west. You’re saying this as if it isn’t the same thing? Or do you really believe that people (like me) who would prefer to keep DST year round really are idiots? ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2022, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/daylight-savings-time-why-is-the-us-congress-split-on-this-matter/974456/52 "2022-11-06T15:34:51Z")
Do you really think that people who prefer lighter evenings are idiots? ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2022, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/daylight-savings-time-why-is-the-us-congress-split-on-this-matter/974456/53 "2022-11-06T15:35:27Z")
> [@susan](#): > > I nominally prefer to shift the time slightly to maximize usable daylight hours Only, most people have jobs that require them to go to bed at night. Who wants to go to bed when the Sun is still out? Not me. Winter, it will be night when you leave for work, and it will be night when you come home, regardless of Standard or Daylight time (if you’re on the northern border of the U.S. like we are). Switch to year-round Standard time. It will still be light in the evenings in Summer, but working people can still go to bed. (Also, it’s Standard time. What, are we going to move Greenwich?) ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2022, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/daylight-savings-time-why-is-the-us-congress-split-on-this-matter/974456/54 "2022-11-06T15:39:08Z")
How early do you go to bed? If it’s very early you are going to run into that anyway. And I’m happy to go to bed when it’s still light so long as I have more light in the evenings. On the other hand Standard time sucks all year round. ---
**Author:** ![Bootb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e19b73/32.png) [@Bootb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bootb)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2022, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/daylight-savings-time-why-is-the-us-congress-split-on-this-matter/974456/55 "2022-11-06T15:40:00Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > You’re saying this as if it isn’t the same thing? Or do you really believe that people (like me) who would prefer to keep DST year round really are idiots? Yes, I do. > [@hajario](#): > > Do you really think that people who prefer lighter evenings are idiots? When people are short-sighted enough to go “Oh, look at the longer evenings!” without bothering to acknowledge the drawbacks–yes, those people are idiots. There’s a possibly apocryphal story about a man who wanted a longer blanket for his bed–so he cut off a strip at the top of the blanket, and sewed that strip on to the bottom. That’s the type of “logic” that DST proponents engage in. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2022, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/daylight-savings-time-why-is-the-us-congress-split-on-this-matter/974456/56 "2022-11-06T15:41:42Z")
> [@Bootb](#): > > When people are short-sighted enough to go “Oh, look at the longer evenings!” without bothering to acknowledge the drawbacks–yes, those people are idiots. > > There’s a possibly apocryphal story about a man who wanted a longer blanket for his bed–so he cut off a strip at the top of the blanket, and sewed that strip on to the bottom. That’s the type of “logic” that DST proponents engage in. Not all of them, by any means, but I have long suspected that some people don’t realize that Daylight Saving Time doesn’t really give you an extra hour of daylight (it just changes the time of day when it occurs). ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2022, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/daylight-savings-time-why-is-the-us-congress-split-on-this-matter/974456/57 "2022-11-06T15:43:31Z")
> [@Bootb](#): > > When people are short-sighted enough to go “Oh, look at the longer evenings!” without bothering to acknowledge the drawbacks–yes, those people are idiots. To me the advantages outweigh the drawbacks. Especially given that if it gets dark at 4 pm it triggers depression for me. That doesn’t make me an idiot. Are you really saying that standard time has no drawbacks either? ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2022, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/daylight-savings-time-why-is-the-us-congress-split-on-this-matter/974456/58 "2022-11-06T15:45:20Z")
My vote is for the policy advocated in today’s FoxTrot. > **[Extra Hours](https://foxtrot.com/2022/11/06/extra-hours/)** > > FoxTrot by Bill Amend | November 6, 2022 ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2022, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/daylight-savings-time-why-is-the-us-congress-split-on-this-matter/974456/59 "2022-11-06T15:46:57Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > that some people don’t realize that Daylight Saving Time doesn’t really give you an extra hour of daylight (it just changes the time of day when it occurs). I think most of us realize that it shifts the daylight to where it is more useful to us, in some practical ways and some mental and emotional ways. As it is, sunrise is too early for me in the summer. Sometimes as early as 5:30. End DST altogether and life becomes worse. On the other hand, keep DST all year long and in the winter the sun stays up well past 4. To me that’s a much better situation. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2022, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/daylight-savings-time-why-is-the-us-congress-split-on-this-matter/974456/60 "2022-11-06T15:55:08Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > You mean, like they do anyway? Some are, anyway. I think that the issue (or the reason for the complaining) back in the '70s was that kids in areas where they were usually going to school in daylight in the winter suddenly weren’t. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/daylight-savings-time-why-is-the-us-congress-split-on-this-matter/974456.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/daylight-savings-time-why-is-the-us-congress-split-on-this-matter/974456.md?page=4)