The last time I got acquainted the word DST was in the pokemon game I played eons ago. The word "Daylight Saving" sounded too much like gimmicky time warp theories in sci-fi fantasies. Until yesterday I bothered to find out how it works. In EU, we were supposed to revert our clocks back by one hour for winter time, and compensate that one hour when summer comes around March. Effectively we don't really gain any time, much less to talk about "saving" time. Its main purpose is to give everyone more daylight afternoons during summer periods. A check on Wikipedia notes that this DST policy has its controversies and is tainted with economic agenda. Sure enough, this week's Economist article on DST proposal in Japan provided motivation for this entry. It was an interesting revelation that adopting DST would boost Japan's GDP by more than US$15 billion yearly. It was seen as a free fiscal stimulant, given how Japan has been stuck in its liquidity trap for more than a decade, and a serious need for its economy to rejuvenate.
Getting free time, or rather a false sense, and exploiting time like a resource. Smart.
Getting free time, or rather a false sense, and exploiting time like a resource. Smart.
