LogFAQs > #972090722

BUMPED2002 posted...

I am not looking forward to DST because it should be left alone one way or another.

I'm fine with it either way as-is.

(Though I'd also say that even if it is the right thing to do, we're pretty much dealing with it in the worst possible way, which is par for the course.)

I acknowledge that it can be annoying to have the time shift forward and back every year (though it's far less annoying than it used to be, with most clocks these days being network-connected and auto-correcting), but there are also advantages. It's actually a way more nuanced discussion than most people realize, who just knee-jerk whine because they lose an hour of sleep every spring.

I also think, like arguing whether or not pineapple is an acceptable pizza topping, people online have made it out to be a way more dramatic thing than it actually is.



streamofthesky posted...

Congress passed a unanimous resolution last year to make this the last time we ever change the clocks. So of course, after literal perfect harmony in the Senate, which never happens, it's basically stalling out in the House.

The whole reason Bush's administration pushed to have it shifted from a 6 month/6 month split to an 8-4 one back in the early 2000s was part of a plan to slowly do away with shifting clocks by degrees. It also allowed for research groups to do studies to determine whether or not the ultimate overall effect would be positive or negative, so we can know for sure whether or not it's a good idea.

The ideal scenario would be to NOT jump directly to doing away with the shift, but to potentially go with a 9-3 or even 10-2 shift for a few years to continue examining the impact. But people are impatient and Congress needs bullshit non-issues to cover up their own inadequacy, so arguing over DST is a good distraction. So here we are.

The ironic thing is that they aren't pushing to do away with DST, they're pushing to make it permanent. Which is actually a different thing (and would have a different impact), even if from the point of the view of the average person it's exactly the same thing.