Gas Prices Abroad

Chris can probably testify directly to this, but the New York Times ran the above piece today about gas prices in the U.S. as compared to both oil producing countries and the nations of Europe. Ryan and I had been talking briefing about how Europeans have been used to paying over 4 dollars for gas for a while, and this chart indicates why. At least nearly half (and often more) of a gallon of gas in Europe is government tax.

Now, far from bringing these economies to a halt, this tax appears to have provided a steady revenue stream while at the same time encouraging conservation rather than consumption. And with continued (and obvious) evidence that higher gas prices increase reliance on public transportation, a higher gas tax seems like a double bonus. Whereas European citizens benefit from the tax by consistent, substantial investment in public transportation, the problem in the United States is that as oil compaies rake in the profits, they eventually push people people in the right direction (public transportation) but leave those people at the mercy of systems that generally are not adequately funded.

I hadn't intended to bring this around to Barack Obama, but I shamelessly will. The whole story reinforces the incredible short-sightedness of McLasik's plan to have a "gas tax holiday." Obama definitely scores a point on this one. The really ballsy position would be to reccommend a phased increase in the federal gas tax to match European levels. As gas prices will significantly rise anyway, all citizens should benefit from well-funded, viable transit alternatives rather than continue to be simply "taxed" by the oil companies.