# Going to permanent Daylight Saving Time **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 14, 2019, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/going-to-permanent-daylight-saving-time/840232 "2019-09-14T19:18:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2019, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/going-to-permanent-daylight-saving-time/840232/1 "2019-09-14T19:18:23Z")
Oregon has passed a law this year saying that if our neighbors to the north and south change to permanent Daylight Saving Time, we will too. Washington has passed a similar law and California is expected to do the same. Unfortunately, California probably won’t be [doing so this year](https://www.sfchronicle.com/politics/article/California-lawmaker-drops-bid-to-switch-to-14429003.php), but perhaps next. But there are other states that have passed laws to do it, such as Florida. But this change has to be approved by Congress. Federal law says states can either do DST for part of the year or Standard Time for the entire year. So Congress has to amend that law to allow permanent DST. What are the chances of that happening? ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2019, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/going-to-permanent-daylight-saving-time/840232/2 "2019-09-14T19:40:05Z")
Maybe I’m just dense, but I don’t see the point. Why not just stay on Standard Time? Change business hours if you want. ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2019, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/going-to-permanent-daylight-saving-time/840232/3 "2019-09-14T19:53:28Z")
Is there an advantage to year-round DST (which I guess would be Mountain Standard Time) vs. year-round ST for the western region? ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2019, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/going-to-permanent-daylight-saving-time/840232/4 "2019-09-14T20:04:03Z")
> [@beowulff](#): > > Maybe I’m just dense, but I don’t see the point. Why not just stay on Standard Time? > Change business hours if you want. Unless every organization changes simultaneously, doing so unilaterally will disrupt peoples lives having to figure out a new schedule to accommodate differing hours. Easier to just have everyone switch at once. ---
**Author:** ![Balthisar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/balthisar/32/2825_2.png) [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2019, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/going-to-permanent-daylight-saving-time/840232/5 "2019-09-14T20:25:27Z")
> [@dtilque](#): > > But this change has to be approved by Congress. Federal law says states can either do DST for part of the year or Standard Time for the entire year. So Congress has to amend that law to allow permanent DST. What are the chances of that happening? I mean, what are the consequences if the state chooses not to follow the law? There’s marijuana everywhere, seemingly, for example… ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2019, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/going-to-permanent-daylight-saving-time/840232/6 "2019-09-14T20:29:24Z")
> [@](#): > > There’s marijuana everywhere, seemingly Yeah, you can leave out “seemingly,” at least for the western part of the state. ---
**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:** [September 14, 2019, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/going-to-permanent-daylight-saving-time/840232/7 "2019-09-14T20:41:15Z")
Daylight Saving Time is when we lose an hour. If we stayed on DST permanently, we’d never get that lost hour back. We’re always waking up an hour too early. I want my hour back, dammit! ---
**Author:** ![DinoR](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dinor/32/2821_2.png) [@DinoR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DinoR)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2019, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/going-to-permanent-daylight-saving-time/840232/8 "2019-09-14T20:42:51Z")
> [@dtilque](#): > > What are the chances of that happening? Trump [supports the change](https://www.forbes.com/sites/trevornace/2019/03/11/trump-to-america-lets-stop-daylight-saving-time/) if they can get a bill through Congress while he’s still President. ---
**Author:** ![BrickBat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ac91a4/32.png) [@BrickBat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrickBat)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2019, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/going-to-permanent-daylight-saving-time/840232/9 "2019-09-14T20:48:06Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > Daylight Saving Time is when we lose an hour. If we stayed on DST permanently, we’d never get that lost hour back. We’re always waking up an hour too early. I want my hour back, dammit! As do I. I take to standard time from the get go. DST kicks my ass for 3 or 4 days. > [@DinoR](#): > > Trump [supports the change](https://www.forbes.com/sites/trevornace/2019/03/11/trump-to-america-lets-stop-daylight-saving-time/) if they can get a bill through Congress while he’s still President. Figures he’d be behind any workaholic-friendly measure. “Sunshine Protection Act”. Sheesh! ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2019, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/going-to-permanent-daylight-saving-time/840232/10 "2019-09-14T21:03:27Z")
I don’t get the hate for DST, esp. for N. states like Washington. People have no idea how early darkness sets in during winter in Washington with year-round DST. No idea. This will not last long. It’s all like out of some sort of premium cable show mocking politicians. 😉 ---
**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:** [September 14, 2019, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/going-to-permanent-daylight-saving-time/840232/11 "2019-09-14T21:24:19Z")
I get the impression that some people think DST gives you an extra hour of daylight. It’s not extra; it just happens at a different time of day. Which can be useful in the summer. But if it’s already going to be dark when I get out of work anyway, can I at least not have it be dark when I go in to work, too? ---
**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:** [September 14, 2019, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/going-to-permanent-daylight-saving-time/840232/12 "2019-09-14T21:26:56Z")
> [@ftg](#): > > I don’t get the hate for DST, esp. for N. states like Washington. > > People have no idea how early darkness sets in during winter in Washington with year-round DST. No idea. Actually, it’s not that the sun will set earlier if there’s DST in the wintertime (in fact, it’s the opposite); it’s that the mornings will be dark. [As per this page on TimeAndDate.com for Seattle](https://www.timeanddate.com/sun/@7174408?month=12&year=2019), for example, with the current DST system (i.e., no DST in the winter months), on December 25th (one of the shortest days of the year), sunrise is at 7:56am, and sunset is at 4:22pm. If DST were year-round, sunrise in Seattle on December 25th would not be until 8:56am, while sunset would be at 5:22pm. [The US went to year-round DST for a year or so in the mid 1970s](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daylight_saving_time_in_the_United_States#1973%E2%80%931975:_Year-round_experiment), during the first oil crisis, with the thinking being that it might help save energy. People in the northern half of the U.S. were very upset about their kids having to leave for school in the dark, and that was at least one reason why the idea was quickly scrapped. ---
**Author:** ![TimeWinder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bcef8e/32.png) [@TimeWinder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TimeWinder)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2019, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/going-to-permanent-daylight-saving-time/840232/13 "2019-09-14T21:29:26Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > Daylight Saving Time is when we lose an hour. If we stayed on DST permanently, we’d never get that lost hour back. We’re always waking up an hour too early. I want my hour back, dammit! The real problem is that ever since they made DST longer than standard time, there’s been an extra accumulation of saved daylight. I’ve got boxes of the stuff in the attic, and you can’t even give it away. If we go to saving daylight ALL THE TIME, where are we going to put it all? ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2019, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/going-to-permanent-daylight-saving-time/840232/14 "2019-09-14T21:35:43Z")
Years ago, I took a poll of my coworkers, asking if we had to go to either all Daylight or all Standard time, which they’d want. The overwhelming preference was for Daylight time. It was a small company, so there were only about a dozen people to ask, so likely not scientific. But I’d be surprised if the general populace didn’t agree. ---
**Author:** ![Oredigger77](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/oredigger77/32/3181_2.png) [@Oredigger77](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oredigger77)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2019, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/going-to-permanent-daylight-saving-time/840232/15 "2019-09-14T22:51:36Z")
I wish we would go to year round standard time. I like sunlight in the morning it makes life so much easier and I don’t really care if i have lights on when I come home from work. ---
**Author:** ![Aspidistra](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspidistra/32/3894_2.png) [@Aspidistra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspidistra)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2019, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/going-to-permanent-daylight-saving-time/840232/16 "2019-09-14T23:16:24Z")
Maybe I’m dense - why doesn’t the law just abolish DST and shift your time zone over one band? Which, if I’m reading [this chart](https://www.timeanddate.com/time/map/) correctly would take you from GMT-7 to GMT-8, along with western Alaska Is there a Federal law about that? ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2019, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/going-to-permanent-daylight-saving-time/840232/17 "2019-09-14T23:45:16Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > But if it’s already going to be dark when I get out of work anyway, can I at least not have it be dark when I go in to work, too? But I work second shift and am rarely even awake before 9 a.m. - more darkness in the morning sounds glorious. I’m thinking this is all on you for working your so-called “normal hours” like a crazy person ;). That goes for the cows as well. We just need to selectively breed for lazy animals that sleep in so the farmers can as well. ---
**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:** [September 14, 2019, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/going-to-permanent-daylight-saving-time/840232/18 "2019-09-14T23:45:40Z")
> [@dtilque](#): > > Years ago, I took a poll of my coworkers, asking if we had to go to either all Daylight or all Standard time, which they’d want. The overwhelming preference was for Daylight time. It was a small company, so there were only about a dozen people to ask, so likely not scientific. But I’d be surprised if the general populace didn’t agree. Possibly so; most of the dislike for DST today, at least in the US, centers around the disruptions when the clocks change forward and back, not for DST itself. That said, most Americans also probably don’t realize (or internalize) that year-round DST would lead to the sun coming up so late in the morning in the winter months (at least in the northern states). So, it’s easy to say “yeah, I wish DST were year round” now, but after a winter spent in DST, they might well change their minds. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2019, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/going-to-permanent-daylight-saving-time/840232/19 "2019-09-15T00:46:15Z")
I live in Arizona, which does not observe DST (except for the Navajo Nation), and I don’t miss it at all. ---
**Author:** ![CelticKnot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/celticknot/32/3392_2.png) [@CelticKnot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CelticKnot)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2019, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/going-to-permanent-daylight-saving-time/840232/20 "2019-09-15T01:02:51Z")
I don’t really care which one is chosen, because there are pros and cons to both; just pick one and stick with it. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/going-to-permanent-daylight-saving-time/840232.md?page=2)