Daylight Savings

Congress keeps extending DST. It lasts 8 months while standard time only lasts 4 months; it's becoming more normal to have our clocks running an hour fast. Daylight savings time was first instituted during World War I in order conserve coal. But does it still save energy in the age of CFL bulbs? The National Bureau of Economic Research has published a paper saying that Indiana is using more energy per capita since we adopted DST.

Congress does have a right and a responsibility to establish standards for measuring time, but ideally those standards should remain as uniform as possible. States and counties should not be allowed to make up their own time zones at will. If an Indiana company orders a shipment from a New York company and wants it delivered by 4pm Friday, there needs to be a mutual understanding of when 4pm is. In my job, I have personally watched truckers miss appointments because of confusion over DST. This can lead to expensive supply chain problems. While I do not fault Governor Daniels for bringing Indiana in line with the rest of the country, I do blame Congress for creating a complex scheme for keeping time. Congress should recognize the costs of DST, and abolish it throughout the country.