Ever since I was young, I always had heard switching between standard time (ST) and daylight savings time (DST) was done by politicians seeking to favor the farm vote. Farmers, we were told, didn't like going out to their barns & fields in the dark. That made about as much sense as banishing sunset.
At various times in our history (WW1, depression, WW2, 1972 Arab Oil Embargo, etc.) DST was invoked as a savings effort. It never made any sense. I distinctly remember Tricky D!ck declaring year-round DST during the Arab Oil Embargo. He claimed we would use less energy lighting & heating our homes if our clocks stayed 1 hour ahead of ST
. That lasted about a year, if I remember correctly. It was repealed because it was widely disliked – almost as much as Nixon!
The only benefit from DST was noted by oil companies. As early as the 1930s, they realized they sold more gasoline after switching to DST, as people drove more in the evening. When DST switched back to ST in the fall, less gasoline was sold. So they always advocated more DST. The last time Congress changed the ST-to-DST switch dates to the weekend following Halloween, lobbyists from the candy companies (Big Sugar) joined those from Big Oil to advocate the change. Not surprisingly, that was during the W administration.
And now the Senate wants year round DST. Go figure! What lobby group has joined Big Oil and Big Sugar?
