22 March 2010

And now a reform we can all get behind

Good bye DST!

I'm amused that it was farmers who objected to the time change in Indiana and it was supposedly those farmers that Franklin was interested in when he proposed the idea in the first place. Franklin's idea for how to do it is a lot more entertaining in any event (firing cannons to wake people up would be fun).

I'm also amused I didn't know Indiana had surrendered to the DST lobby. A good sign that I haven't bothered going into Indiana in a while or paying attention to the time while there. (I was aware they're still fighting over whether to be on CST or EST and that this is akin to a blood feud, third rail discussion in Indiana homes).

As it happens, the "less crime" outcome is easily duplicated. Move middle and high school start times back two hours to a 9-5 day. Traffic fatalities can be copied by using congestion pricing tolls to smooth out traffic across the day. And it's not that hard to go to a movie, a play, or a ballgame even when it's dark outside. "Increased economic activity" is not the same as benefits from increased economic activity. If all it is is more energy dollars, that is a broken window if I've ever seen one.

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