Savings Gripe

Savings are going away.  A few days ago, regular readers were sent a note on income and outlays from the Bureau of Economic Analysis which includes data on the savings rate.  In the note, Atlas highlighted the dismal rate of savings (currently 3.1 percent).  It is understandable that households are less able to stash cash when inflation is rising while markets crash.  But our nation hasn’t been good at saving for a long time.  This is partially demonstrated by the country’s national debt which gets added to every time we run a budget deficit.

Now another form of savings is moving on: Daylight Savings.  This weekend the clock gets turned back an hour.  Of course, the upside is an extra hour of sleep.  Although, we lost an hour in March, so is this really saving?  Enough digressing.  What is all the clock changing good for?  According to this article from timeanddate.com, we spring forward to make better use of natural daylight.  So why are we changing?  Do we no longer need the advantages of daylight?  Benjamin Franklin might have disagreed if he were around today.  In a satirical essay he wrote in 1784 which was published in the Journal de Paris, he quipped to the effect that Parisians should shift their sleep schedule to save money on candles and lamp oil, arguing the economic advantages of free natural light.  It's not like the changes in time are without costs.  According to this study, workplace injuries rise on the Monday after Daylight Savings Time is reinstituted. 

Monsieur Franklin may not have been able to imagine the complexity of our modern economy when he was alive, but his wisdom could be used today.  We are in the middle of an energy crunch.  There are growing concerns about hydroelectric generation being turned off along major rivers in America.  In the West, power is generated by the Colorado River from dams like Hoover and Glen Canyon.  Or take the Mississippi which provides energy via 12 hydropower facilities.  These two rivers are running dry, threatening critical infrastructure.  Maybe the time change is necessary.  Just thinking about adjusting all the clocks in my house has exhausted me.  Fortunately, I can use the extra hour available this Sunday.