Daylight Savings Time

Many of us are quick to blame Benjamin Franklin for the hour of sleep we lost yesterday due to daylight savings time. I did some research and concluded that Ben Franklin joked about daylight savings time. Franklin was encouraged to work on simple, yet important, problems. To show his friends his appreciation, he wrote a series of fun pieces for their amusement, one of which was the infamous daylight savings letter.

This daylight savings letter was used later to establish daylight savings times.

The letter said how the law might work. There would be a tax on shutters that blocked light. All families would be rationed to one pound of candle wax per week. Church bells, and, if necessary, cannons, should be rung or shot every morning as soon as the sun rises to “awaken the sluggards effectually and make them open their eyes to see their true interests.” This law was to basically make people use the sunlight while they had it so they didn’t waste candle wax. The idea was ok then but in our society, is not very useful. There are a lot of negative repercussions from daylight savings time.

First, people are cranky and tired. The last person I want to deal with is a cranky person. I don’t even have to do or say something wrong to piss a cranky person off. They go off and yell at me all by themselves. The fact that daylight savings time is on a Monday makes it even worse. There has to be a better time to start daylight savings time, if we are going to do it at all.

Secondly, it gets dark in the morning again. People going to work early are usually tired and unaware of their surroundings. Adding darkness back to their lives increases the likelihood that they will get in an accident. Sunday and Monday after daylight savings time are awful times to drive. People are sleepy, cranky, and inattentive to the road. If weather is a factor, you might just want to stay off the roads altogether.

Lastly, the United States Economy lost $433,982,548 according to the Lost-Hour Economic Index. The Lost-Hour Economic Index breaks down the economic loss state-by-state, across the top 360 metropolitan areas, saying that the lost income is due to a number of factors, including fatigue. Bigger cities were harder hit as less people went outside to spend their money. Fewer consumers bring lower sales and ultimately less profit. Daylight savings time is increasingly costing Americans more and more money. People are becoming lazier and less likely to get out during daylight savings time.

Daylight saving time was a good idea when Franklin was alive. They did it to conserve resources and force people to use sunlight. Now, daylight saving time is costing the United States more money than it makes on the other end. The roads become more dangerous during the time switch. It just isn’t worth the hassle to have daylight savings time in our country. Benjamin Franklin is probably laughing in his grave on our stubbornness to keep daylight savings time. He wrote the letter as a joke after all.

 

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