The 5 Dumbest Arguments Against The Sunshine Protection Act

Four years ago, the Senate voted unanimously to ditch the switch and stick with daylight saving time year-round. Nineteen states have passed laws that would make DST permanent, if the federal government would let them. And this week, the House approved the Sunshine Protection Act by a 3-to-1 margin.

But don’t count on it becoming law.

As Politico reports, it “faces an uphill battle in the Senate despite strong lobbying from the White House and personal engagement from President Donald Trump.”

The problem is that enough Senators are likely to be swayed by critics to block it, even though the arguments against the bill are entirely specious. Here are the five worst ones:

Permanent “standard time” is better for your health. The argument here is that keeping our clocks in sync with the sun promotes a healthier life by aligning with our circadian rhythms. But that argument fails for several reasons, not least of which is the fact that we are already two-thirds of the way to permanent daylight saving time. The country is only on “standard” time for 127 days. In any case, it’s the switching back and forth that has proved to be the real public health menace. (See: “Just Say No To The Clock Changing Madness: It’s Pointless And Dangerous.”) There’s no question that a permanent DST would be better for public health than what we have now.