Tuesday, April 02, 2013

Sick of Pain at the Pump? Ask a European

Americans are such spoiled children. These days practically all you hear from Americans is how much they are paying for gasoline. Americans, being the provincial people that they are, have no idea what real pain at the pump is.
 
And no I am not defending the oil and gas industry. They can well-afford to cut their margins and still make a gazillion dollars for their stock holders. I am just here to observe the hidden truth that gasoline prices could be a whole lot worse.
Most of what Europe pays in excess for gasoline is partly due to higher taxes and partly due to supply. They tax the H-E-double hockey sticks out of their gasoline. California is a piker compared to the taxes Europeans pay. But then there is simply very little local supply available in Europe. Americans still enjoy abundant local supply.
And the problem is also that we are now competing on a developing world market for resources, and we pay a higher price to attract supply away from Asia.
So yeah, prices are up but so is everything else, partially fueled by the increased costs of transportation.
So buck up Americans. It could be a whole lot worse.

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