Posted on 03/10/2011 10:40:12 AM PST by Signalman
NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- Americans often fret about the price of gasoline, which has surged dramatically in recent days, fueled by turmoil in oil-producing nations in the Middle East and North Africa.
But the price of gas in America lags far behind its European counterparts. While Americans tear their hair out at the pump, Europeans watch them enviously from across the Atlantic.
Most Europeans pay at least double what Americans do. Some of them, including the Greeks and the Scandinavians, shell out even more.
In the U.S., the nationwide average for the price of gas was $3.53 per gallon on Thursday, according to AAA. The price has risen for 16 consecutive days, jumping 34 cents.
But that's still less than half the $9.28 per gallon paid in Oslo, according to Din Side, a Norwegian search and news site that monitors gas prices, among other things.
"The difference between countries comes down to taxes and subsidies," said Tom Kloza, the chief oil analyst for Oil Price Information Service. "Prices are incredibly high in Europe because of the stiff taxes that EU countries put on fuel. The same holds true for many other countries."
(Excerpt) Read more at money.cnn.com ...
Prices of gas in Europe are irrelevant. What matters in rural America where people drive 50 miles each way to go to work, where goods are trucked across the nation, where the public transportation infrastructure is mostly designed for cities, are fuel prices that grind us to a halt. It’s not like most people in the US can catch a bus to go to work and back. Besides, we have the resources to end this here, and make America great again, so I hope Americans keep whining.
Prices of gas in Europe are irrelevant. What matters in rural America where people drive 50 miles each way to go to work, where goods are trucked across the nation, where the public transportation infrastructure is mostly designed for cities, are fuel prices that grind us to a halt. It’s not like most people in the US can catch a bus to go to work and back. Besides, we have the resources to end this here, and make America great again, so I hope Americans keep whining.
If the taxes were removed from the equation, then how would Europe and the U.S. compare on the price at the pump???
Norwegian average income is twice of American. And they don’t drive as much. Charge them $15 a gal. and they won’t notice a difference.
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