{"id":5979,"date":"2026-07-15T17:04:51","date_gmt":"2026-07-15T17:04:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/?p=5979"},"modified":"2026-07-15T17:04:51","modified_gmt":"2026-07-15T17:04:51","slug":"the-downside-of-making-daylight-saving-time-permanent","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/?p=5979","title":{"rendered":"The downside of making Daylight Saving Time permanent"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n

\n One of the most famous quotes about politics is Otto von Bismarck\u2019s observation that it\u2019s the \u201cart of the possible.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

Read more Former Obama White House attorney says \u2018it was a mistake\u2019 to deal with Epstein and she regrets it<\/a><\/p>\n

\n But when it comes to Daylight Saving Time, a more apt version comes from economist John Kenneth Galbraith\u2019s 1962 letter to President John F. Kennedy: \u201cPolitics is not the art of the possible. It consists in choosing between the disastrous and the unpalatable.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\n Congress is yet again flirting with eliminating the United States\u2019 twice-yearly ritual of changing the clocks by an hour \u2014 this time, by making Daylight Saving Time permanent. The House voted in favor of that change Tuesday by an overwhelming margin, 308-117.\n <\/p>\n

\n But in many ways, this issue epitomizes political populism run amok.\n <\/p>\n

\nChanging clocks is bad and we don\u2019t like it? OK, then let\u2019s just stop doing that! If the status quo is bad, then the alternative must be better.<\/em>\n<\/p>\n

\n Indeed, to hear some supporters of this effort tell it, this is a virtually cost-free maneuver \u2014 a no-brainer with no discernible downsides.\n <\/p>\n

\n It\u2019s called the Sunshine Protection Act, after all. Who could oppose protecting sunshine? President Donald Trump, who supports the move, wrote in May that it would give people \u201ca longer, brighter Day.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cAnd who can be against that?\u201d he added.\n <\/p>\n

\n Well, as it turns out, lots of people can be. Because they were when the United States tried this back in the 1970s. Americans were soon reminded that there was a good reason that we started changing the clocks in the first place. And public opinion turned on a dime.\n <\/p>\n

\n In the midst of an energy crisis, President Richard Nixon proposed making Daylight Saving Time permanent for the next two winters in order to conserve it. And the change was quickly implemented for the winter of 1973-74.\n <\/p>\n

\n But polls showed support falling off a cliff. Data from the National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago showed 79% supported the change in December; that fell to 42% by February. Other polls showed support dropping even lower.\n <\/p>\n

\n The move didn\u2019t actually save much energy, according to a later study from the Department of Transportation. But it did produce a series of other changes that, it turned out, were problematic.\n <\/p>\n

\n Among them, as Daylight Saving Time scholar Michael Downing wrote in 2005, were that it put clocks out of sync with Europe, made religious rituals related to sunrises more difficult, and, contrary to popular opinion, wasn\u2019t popular with farmers.\n <\/p>\n

\n But at the top of the list was the months of cold, dark mornings it created. While supporters of permanent Daylight Saving Time pitch it as increasing sunlight, it really just shifts it later in the winter.\n <\/p>\n

Read more Johnson unveils $95 billion plan for defense spending and Trump\u2019s elections overhaul<\/a><\/p>\n

\n What that means, practically speaking, is that many Americans go to school and work in the dark for months on end. The Washington Post in 2024 produced some great visualizations on what this change means for all corners of the country.\n <\/p>\n

\n A few telling points:\n <\/p>\n

\n