Reply #22: Oooo, look people, you're getting off cheap!

[MadHound]

Yeah, they tried to sell the American public that shit during the seventies, and it is as invalid a comparison now as it was then.

The reason for those high prices, as the article states, is the fact that gas is severely taxed. And what do the people of those countries get for those taxes? Oh, yeah, things like real UHC, a well run mass transit system, good roads, better education, etc. etc. Thus, when you're paying at the pump in England or Iceland, you're not just buying gas(like you are here), you're buying national infrastructure and communal support.

Secondly, there are geographical differences between the US and these other countries. Size for one thing. Many of those countries are smaller than our states. They are more compact and you don't have the same sort of driving distances that you do in the US. Secondly, places like Europe and India have much more fuel efficient vehicles available to the public in general. We're talking real fuel efficiency on everything from the 65mpg Smart Car to that old favorite, the 100mpg Bajaj. Finally, as I mentioned earlier, many countries have much better mass transit systems that the US. Outside of NYC and a couple of other large cities, there is no mass transit to speak of in the US. Therefore you are forced to use your car much more often that these other countries.

Sorry, but please stop trying to trot out this old canard. Comparing apples and oranges didn't make Americans feel better in the seventies, and it won't make us feel better now.