Permanent Daylight Saving Time Is the Perfect Stupid Idea for Our Stupid Time

Josh Barro · 17 Jul 2026

Josh Barro did not write this page.

Every claim below was made in this piece, quoted word for word and numbered in the order the piece makes them, so you can read it there rather than take our word for it. The sentence above each quote is our reading of the claim, not their wording. Each quote was checked against a stored copy of the page at build time; where the two differ, the quote is the fact.

Our reading
Modern technology has made seasonal clock changes far less burdensome than they were decades ago.

Their wordsthe main relevant difference between 1974 and now is that technology handles clock changes on our behalf, so time changes are less burdensome than they used to be.
Our reading
Growing public unreasonableness and contradictory demands are a major cause of persistently low approval ratings for politicians of both parties.

Their wordsthe increasing unreasonableness of an electorate that wants all its groceries in one bag and also doesn't want the bag to be heavy is a primary driver behind permanently low approval of politicians in both parties
Our reading
Politicians increasingly govern by what polls well rather than by what actually produces outcomes voters are satisfied with.
Mental modelIncentives

Their wordspoliticians acting based on what they think polls well, rather than based on what will actually produce results that make voters happy

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