Op-Ed: There's a Simple Fix to Our Clock-Change Madness

Essayist argues for a permanent 30-minute adjustment, splitting the difference
Posted Mar 6, 2026 10:16 AM CST
Op-Ed: One Way to Settle the Clock Change Debate
An Electric Time Co. employee cleans the face of an 84-inch Wegman clock in Medfield, Mass.   (AP Photo/Elise Amendola, File)

Americans have to change their clocks again this weekend, a ritual people love to carp about. But one essayist is floating what he sees as a common-sense compromise to end the practice once and for all: Just move the clocks once, by 30 minutes, and stop. Writing in the Hill, railroad planner Harris M. Cohen argues that instead of choosing between permanent standard time and permanent daylight saving time—a fight that has frozen Congress—the country should meet in the middle.

  • "A permanent 30-minute adjustment, halfway between standard and daylight time, offers a balanced solution," writes Cohen. "It would eliminate the disruptive biannual clock changes while preserving more evening light in winter and avoiding excessively late sunrises. Countries such as India, Sri Lanka, and Newfoundland already use half-hour offsets successfully. If 1.4 billion people can manage it, so can 330 million Americans."
  • Read his full essay.

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