Time Change Debate Heats Up as Musk and Ramaswamy Advocate for a Permanent Solution
Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy have thrown their hats into the ring of a long-standing debate: should the United States say goodbye to the twice-yearly ritual of changing clocks? Both businessmen have voiced their support for permanently ending time changes, a proposition that has garnered significant national attention.
Musk, taking to social media platform X, declared that Americans are ready to "abolish the annoying time changes!" while Ramaswamy called the century-old practice "inefficient & easy to change," suggesting it was time for the nation to move on.
While the seriousness of their commitment to this issue remains to be seen, their interest aligns with a growing sentiment among voters.
The biannual clock shift has lost its appeal for many, and the prospect of abolishing it has emerged as possibly their most impactful proposal yet, potentially affecting the daily routines of hundreds of millions of Americans. This sentiment isn’t new, as key figures within President-elect Donald Trump’s incoming administration and the Republican Senate caucus have also openly supported the idea for years.
However, experts caution against overemphasizing the potential sweep of changes resulting from a simple elimination of clock changes.
Dr. Jadrian Wooten, a collegiate associate professor at Virginia Tech’s Department of Economics who has studied the topic extensively, argues that "this is really an argument between morning people and nighttime people."
He points out that the benefits touted by proponents, such as increased daylight in the morning, can be inverted depending on an individual’s preference. For every study showing a positive result for one group, another study could highlight a benefit for the other.
The debate is multifaceted, with three distinct camps holding strong opinions.
The first advocates for preserving the status quo, with most of the country continuing to adjust their clocks forward in March and back in November. This approach aims to achieve a balance between daylight hours, catering to both early birds and night owls.
The second camp supports permanent standard time, keeping clocks as they are from November to March. This would result in earlier sunrises and sunsets for parts of the country during those five months, potentially aligning better with the body’s natural circadian rhythm.
"If you get too much light too late in the evening, it disrupts your sleep," warns Dr. Adam Spira, a professor at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health studying healthy sleep habits. "We are essentially creating a multi-month environment where we are receiving light at a time that is later in the day than is optimal for our health."
Spira highlights the existing sleep deprivation issue in society, emphasizing that tampering with sleep schedules further complicates the problem.
This viewpoint resonates with parents concerned about their children waiting for the school bus in darkness.
"It’s kids getting ready to go to school. It’s kids getting on the bus. You know, it’s really dangerous to put kids out waiting for the bus in the morning when it’s really dark outside, and so if you have that extra time in the morning, it’s a safer morning for most people, right?" Wooten explains.
The third camp favors permanent Daylight Saving Time, meaning later sunrises and sunsets. This group often includes retail, business, and restaurant organizations, as well as proponents of increased evening daylight for safety and economic activity.
Ultimately, individual preferences heavily influence this debate. Parents may prioritize their children’s safety during morning commutes, while others may value extra daylight for after-school sports or social engagements.
Adding to the complexity, Musk’s stance on the matter remains ambiguous. While supporting the abolishment of time changes, he seemingly endorsed both permanent Daylight Saving Time and permanent standard time in recent social media posts.
Florida Senator Rick Scott, part of Musk’s newly formed "DOGE Senate caucus" and a proponent of making Daylight Saving Time permanent, echoed the sentiment, referencing popular support for ending Daylight Saving Time in a social media post, which was later deleted due to a typo.
Historically, attempts to permanently implement Daylight Saving Time have been met with resistance. During the 1970s gas crisis, for example, a national attempt at permanent Daylight Saving Time ultimately failed due to public complaints about increased safety risks for children traveling to school in the darkness.
With the potential backing of one of the world’s wealthiest individuals, the United States could be on the precipice of another major shift regarding time changes.
As Musk and Ramaswamy prepare to meet with Republican lawmakers on Thursday, the future of timekeeping in the United States hangs in the balance.
