Europeans: Americans need to get over high price of gas

[ECH1969]

Many British and French drivers have a response for Americans who are complaining about paying $3 a gallon for gasoline. "Tough luck, Yanks" and "c'est dommage" are the polite ones.

"Get used to it," says Caroline Gregson, 49, who lives in the posh Chelsea area of London and fills up her Mini Cooper at a station there for about $7 a gallon.

"Come here and see the prices we have," says Eric Chantala, 34, a Paris anti-ques dealer, as he fills up his Volkswagen Golf at a station on the Boulevard Raspail in the city's Left Bank. He now pays about $75 to fill up his tank.

Europe also has been hit by the high gasoline prices that are outraging Americans and prompted President Bush last week to stop filling the nation's emergency oil reserve, waive costly clean-air provisions on gasoline content and launch an investigation of oil companies.

http://biz.yahoo.com/usat/060430/13533290.html

[jsamuel]

1. see this thread:

Are some people here forgetting about the rest of us?

[LittleClarkie]

2. But isn't part of the reason theirs is so high is a gas tax?

At least they get the benefit of the revenue that brings in. The only ones benefitting here are the oil companies.

[BooScout]

4. I got news for you.......

Oil companies are benefitting here as well. Do you think Europe and the UK isn't also paying the same base price of gas that you are paying PLUS taxes on top of that. Gas going up affects everything here. It's cheaper to drive from London to Edinburgh than it is to take the train. Yes, public transportation is here and pretty good......but it ain't cheap......not by a long shot.

[silverlib]

3. Give us what their taxes on gaoline give them...

health insurance and public transportation. I'll trade that any day..,

[BooScout]

5. Taxes on Petrol..........

DO NOT subsidize healthcare. That's a myth.

[LSK]

7. no its not

If Im wrong, please tell us how come your gas prices are much higher than ours and tell us how Health Care gets paid for?

[muriel_volestrangler]

10. fuel duty is about 30% of the spending on the national health service

See http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=102&topic_id=2257360&mesg_id=2257997 for figures. The NHS is funded from general government revenue - income taxes, a sales tax, fuel duty, coproration tax, duty on tobacco and alcohol, and other things. Government revenues and spending are not separated.

[sueh]

9. Thank you, BooScout...

for clarifying petrol taxes don't pay for national health insurance. I've thought for many years it did.

[BooScout]

12. Yea well........

Hubby jumped on me for saying that. As Muriel just explained.........the Brits don't separate out fuel revenues.........so in theory it does pay for some of the NHS.......I should be forgiven though.....I'm just an ignorant American still trying to figured out which end is up over here. :9

[dipsydoodle]

6. In fairness....

...our distances are not as great as yours and yes we do have good rail systems. you should also allow the fact that our imperial gallon is bigger than yours. Don't change they fact that yes our fuel is expensive but a lot of the cost is attributable to duty and value added tax which together probably represent at least half of the cost.

[ComerPerro]

11. that pretty much debunked that entirely. lol

[SPKrazy]

8. It's Too Bad That Detroit And The Oil Companies

pretty well shut out the idea of good public transportation long ago

now the auto industry is leaving us

and the oil companies are screwing us hard

I'm sorry for the way things are in Europe, but I don't have a damned thing to do with it.

We're getting fucked by the companies that have been fucking us all along.

and the government that joins in.

[LiberalEsto]

13. I'll get over it when and if:

the U.S. Government takes back the $16 billion in tax breaks it gave the oil industry and

Exxon/Mobil reduces the pay of its CEO, who makes $13,700 an HOUR - according to the NY Times.

[Jade Fox]

14. They have excellent public transportation....

in Europe, don't they? Does make it easier.

[area51]

15. "...excellent public transportation..."

That's what I've heard. Also, they have universal healthcare and I thought many places have a social safety net, which we don't have. The situations aren't at all equal. B/c our tax dollars aren't used wisely for things like universal healthcare, we're getting reamed over here.