Gas Prices

[marcell1002]

Relatively low taxes have kept pump prices far below most other developed nations, which some say is precisely why the current runup is so painful.

Despite daily headlines bemoaning record gas prices, the U.S. is actually one of the cheaper places to fill up in the world.

Out of 155 countries surveyed, U.S. gas prices were the 45th cheapest, according to a recent study from AIRINC, a research firm that tracks cost of living data.

The difference is staggering. As of late March, U.S. gas prices averaged $3.45 a gallon. That compares to over $8 a gallon across much of Europe.

The U.S. has always fought to keep gas prices low, and the current debate among presidential candidates on how to keep them that way has been fierce.


But those cheap gas prices - which Americans have gotten used to - mean they feel price spikes like the ones we're experiencing now more acutely than citizens from other nations which have had historically more expensive fuel.

Cheap gas prices have also lulled Americans into a cycle of buying bigger cars and bigger houses further away from their work - leaving them more exposed to rising prices, some experts say.

Price comparisons are not all created equal. Comparing gas prices across nations is always difficult. For starters, the AIRINC numbers don't take into account different salaries in different countries, or the different exchange rates. The dollar has lost considerable ground to the euro recently. Because oil is priced in dollars, rising oil prices aren't as hard on people paying with currencies which are stronger than the dollar, as they can essentially buy more oil with their money as the dollar falls in value.

And then there's the varying distances people drive, the public transportation options available, and the different services people get in exchange for high gas prices. For example, Europe's stronger social safety net, including cheaper health care and higher education, is paid for partly through gas taxes.

Gas price: It's all about government policy. Gasoline costs roughly the same to make no matter where in the world it's produced, according to John Felmy, chief economist for the American Petroleum Institute. The difference in retail costs, he said, is that some governments subsidize gas while others tax it heavily.


Bogged Down
Most expensive places to buy gas
Rank Country Price/gal
1. Bosnia-Herzegovina $10.86
2. Eritrea $9.58
3. Norway $8.73
4. United Kingdom $8.38
5. Netherlands $8.37
6. Monaco $8.31
7. Iceland $8.28
8. Belgium $8.22
9. France $8.07
10. Germany $7.86
111. United States $3.45


Cruisin'
Where gasoline is cheapest
Rank Country Price/gal
1. Venezuela 12 cents
2. Iran 40 cents
3. Saudi Arabia 45 cents
4. Libya 50 cents
5. Swaziland 54 cents
6. Qatar 73 cents
7. Bahrain 81 cents
8. Egypt 89 cents
9. Kuwait 90 cents
10. Seychelles 98 cents
45. United States $3.45

[joyvy67]

The Barrel of petrole costs 116 usd in france.

Very very expensive.

Actually i need more money for my cars gas than for my daily beer......:D

[marcell1002]

Here by us a litre of petrol is more expensive than a litre of beer or two litres of coca cola. its almost the same price for a litre of petrol as it is for a bottle of wine!

[Durgdul]

the thing that makes us bitch here in the U.S.
is the fact that we "produce" oil and we export it, and then pay to import oil from elsewhere to justify a higher cost at the pumps, all to line the pockets of the wealthy.

[marcell1002]

The rich get richer and the poor gets poorer!

[MarcusMaximus]

From Bloomberg: Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama's proposal for a windfall profits tax on oil companies could cost $15 billion a year at last year's profit levels, a campaign adviser said.

The plan would target profit from the biggest oil companies by taxing each barrel of oil costing more than $80, according to a fact sheet on the proposal. The tax would help pay for a $1,000 tax cut for working families, an expansion of the earned- income tax credit and assistance for people who can't afford their energy bills.

``The profits right now are so remarkable that one could trim them 10 percent or so, which would turn out to be somewhere in the $15 billion range,'' said Jason Grumet, an adviser to the Obama campaign.

Obama's plan may be three times larger than the $50 billion, 10-year plan contemplated by his Democratic rival, New York Senator Hillary Clinton. Republican candidate John McCain, an Arizona senator, has no plan to raise oil and gas industry taxes, said his economic adviser, Douglas Holtz-Eakin.

Oil companies would still have ample reason to ``continue to pursue production, while at the same time providing relief to consumers,'' Grumet said.

A flurry of energy proposals from presidential candidates and lawmakers has come after crude oil futures prices reached $119.93 a barrel on April 28. Retail gasoline prices hit a record $3.603 a gallon this week, according to the U.S. Energy Department.

Obama's Proposal

Among the options Illinois Senator Obama is mulling is imposing a 20 percent tax on the cost of a barrel of oil above $80, said Grumet, who spoke at a conference in Washington today.

``The industry has profited greatly -- over $150 billion in 2007 -- due to global instability fueled by conflict in Iraq, failing domestic fiscal policies that have weakened the U.S. dollar and skyrocketing global demand resulting from a lack of investment in alternatives,'' said the Obama fact sheet.

Energy companies argue that new taxes will discourage production at a time when supply is needed most.

Clinton would impose a $20 billion windfall profits tax on oil companies over the next decade and repeal $30 billion in tax breaks over 10 years to pay into a so-called strategic energy fund, said Brian Deese, Clinton's economic policy director.

Gas-Tax Holiday

Clinton has proposed a gas-tax holiday for the summer paid for by about $9 billion in windfall profits taxes on oil companies. She would repeal an 18.4 cent per-gallon tax on gasoline and a 24.4 cent per-gallon tax on diesel fuel. Obama opposes the idea, saying it will provide minimal relief to consumers.

Oil companies got about $12 billion in tax breaks last year, Grumet said, and the windfall tax would aim to roll back all of those subsidies.

The top five oil companies, San Ramon, California-based Chevron Corp.; Houston-based ConocoPhillips; Irving, Texas-based Exxon Mobil Corp.; BP Plc in London; and the Hague-based Royal Dutch Shell Plc. reported $123 billion in profits for last year.

Exxon Mobil said first-quarter net income rose to $10.9 billion, or $2.03 a share, from $9.28 billion, or $1.62, a year earlier. The profits report fell short of analyst estimates as production dropped and profit margins from refining narrowed.

[ToddB]

the thing that makes us bitch here in the U.S.
is the fact that we "produce" oil and we export it, and then pay to import oil from elsewhere to justify a higher cost at the pumps, all to line the pockets of the wealthy.

Drugdul, and everyone else too, have you ever looked up the breakdown of who gets what dollar amount for every gallon of gasoline you buy? The "rich", meaning Big Oil (you know, the ones that most people say are the bad guys, the evil bastards who are jacking up prices along with their puppets Cheney and Bush, blah, blah, blah) get 8 cents out of every gallon you buy.

Yep, you read that right, they get 8 cents for every gallon you buy.

Now, let's look at the US government (yeah, the ones who some people say are the good guys, the ones trying to help the "common people"). They get 20 cents for every gallon you buy.

I ask you, who's being the greedy bastards? The oil companies spend money to search for the oil, they spend money to get it out of the group, to transport it, to refine it, to transport it to your local station, then to operate that station. And for all this work, they get 8 cents out of every gallon you buy.

The US government gets 20 cents. What do they do to earn their more than double amount? Nothing. Not a damn thing. But of course, they think they earn it.

Why, take the whole "gas tax holiday" debate. Hillary Clinton says that "Big Oil" should pay for the gas tax holiday, meaning Big Oil should pay for the money the government is going to not receive in taxes. Do you see the problem with that statement? The goverment does NOTHING to earn the money they make off of gas. Big Oil does ALL the work. And yet, if Clinton gets her way and the government loses out on their take of the profits, then instead of the government letting that money go, they are just going to take MORE of the oil company's money.

Of course, they then say that this will help the middle class. Um... how? Can anyone answer that?

[Durgdul]

Todd,
when I refer to the "wealthy" I am including the government.