Sunday, Nov. 3, was the longest day of the year in 48 of the 50 states.
With the exception of Arizona and Hawaii, states across the nation experienced a 25-hour day (the 1:00 a.m. hour repeated), marking the end of daylight saving time. As a result, the sun will rise earlier in the day and set later. In some states, this results in exceptionally early sunsets in December. In Bangor, Maine, for example, there are many days where the sun sets before 4:00 p.m.
On March 8, daylight saving time begins again and there will be a 23-hour day. As Business Insider points out, this results in sleep deprivation, lost wages for night shift workers (many of whom will work a seven-hour shift), and increased car accidents. However, if losing an hour of sleep was not a part of the deal, daylight saving time would be preferable to no daylight saving time at all. That said, Congress should eradicate the biannual annoyance and make daylight saving time the new standard time year-round.
Some evidence suggests permanent daylight saving time could help the economy. Analyzing major cities, the JP Morgan Chase & Co. Institute found that economic activity slows between 2.2% and 4.9% in cities like Denver, Los Angeles, and San Diego. Meanwhile, Phoenix did not have the same downturn since Arizona doesn’t adopt daylight saving time.
Permanent daylight saving time could even save electricity. In addition to giving rampant corporate welfare to the alternative energy sector, President George W. Bush permanently extended daylight saving time four weeks as part of the Energy Policy Act of 2005. In 2008, a study by the Department of Energy found electrical use in those four weeks decreased by 0.5%.
Certainly, it would improve the country’s health and result in more outdoor activity. Although the New Republic complained in 2010 that Bush’s change benefited the sporting goods lobby — as if more people out exercising is a bad thing. With daylight saving time, pedestrian activity increases 62% and cyclist activity sees a 38% increase due to additional evening daylight, according to the Journal of Environmental Psychology. As WTVC Chattanooga reported in 2017, there are also links between the “fall back” time and increased seasonal depression.
Perhaps permanent daylight saving time would even deter crime. As the Brookings Institution found in 2015, the robbery rate drops about 7% at the start of daylight saving time and 27% during the hour of gained sunlight. They even found the robbery rate did not increase in the darker morning hour.
Such a proposal would have bipartisan support. President Trump tweeted in support of the idea back in March. Sen. Marco Rubio proposed The Sunshine Protection Act of 2019, which would make this proposal uniform throughout the entire country. Its co-sponsors are Rubio’s Republican colleague Rick Scott of Florida and Democratic Sens. Patty Murray of Washington and Ron Wyden of Oregon. Florida Republican Rep. Vern Buchanan also proposed the bill in the House.
With the two chambers of Congress split between Republican and Democrat control, the chances of many major pieces of legislation passing in the remainder of Trump’s first term are low. However, the 535 voting members of Congress are still being paid, so they might as well do something to earn their paychecks and benefit their constituents. Why not make daylight saving time a year-round event?
Tom Joyce (@TomJoyceSports) is a freelance writer who has been published with USA Today, the Boston Globe, Newsday, ESPN, the Detroit Free Press, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the Federalist, and a number of other media outlets.
