Reply #5: Interesting to see how people respond

[drmeow]

I was simply making a statement. I just got back from Spain and my reaction to their gas prices was "Ouch!!!" However, since people have brought up some other issues, I'll address some of them.

1) Gas and oil are subsidized in this country. We actually pay lower sales tax on gas than other products. Oil companies pay lower income tax on average. See http://www.progress.org/2003/energy22.htm and http://www.ucsusa.org/clean_vehicles/fuel_economy/subsidizing-big-oil.html

2) Yes, Europe has better public transportation. They also have a very different lifestyle. Unlike the US they have chosen to invest in their public transportation system to benefit their people rather than investing in highways, etc, to benefit the oil, car, and tire industries as well as land developers.

3) The higher European gas taxes are not used to pay for health care, they are used to subsidize public transportation. Therefore factoring in health care benefits is not relevant.