As the United States braces for the end of Daylight Savings Time this weekend and clocks are wound an hour back, studies show there is a need to reconsider and take a second look at how it actually weighs in on the benefits.
What may have been touted as its benefits when it was first conceived, DST may not have changed over the years and is now raising debates as to whether it is still an effective policy. Several states including Massachusetts are now looking at the possibility of letting DST go.
A recent study released by JP Morgan Institute according to Bloomberg reveals that a drop is seen in consumer spending during DST. Retail stores were reported to have received the biggest brunt of the spending drop by as much as 6 percent per daily capita spending. This was based on comparative purchase reports by debit and credit card users in a couple of big US cities - Los Angeles and Phoenix.
A separate study pointed out what seems to quantify the doubts that DST is no longer effective for reasons which it was intended to pursue. Legislators were initially banking on DST to conserve energy, but a Yale study conducted in Indiana proved otherwise and even increased demand for electricity during DST. It even increased costs in electricity bills for Indiana residents of another $9 million per year.
Farmers were also frowning upon DST as it only caused them to lose an hour of production times to distribute goods to the market, causing them to move products an hour early. They agree that what matters is the time that they see the sun rise to start plowing their fields.
But the ongoing debate still raises the question whether the disadvantages outweigh the benefits and what it would take to push for campaigns that would put an end to doubts raised if DST is still a viable option for the US economy in general.
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