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There are all these misleading stories about how we should feel lucky that we are only paying $4.50 a gallon for gasoline because the people in many European Countries are paying $8.00 a gallon. Well that is not really true. Sure, adjusted to the American Dollar they are paying $8.00 a gallon but because their currency is worth 50% more than it was 8 years ago, in their money gasoline has not risen as much as ours on a percentage basis.
Also, the typical European spends less of his income on gasoline because they drive less and have cars that get 40 MPG. The percentage of their income spent on gasoline is far less in Europe for the typical middle class worker than in America.
Driving less and having smaller cars is a direct reaction to having higher gas prices.
If gas prices went up to $8/gallon here, smaller cars would be in higher demand and people would adapt to a more local lifestyle. After these changes take place, we can say that we spend a lower percentage of income on gas too.
... people would adapt to a more local lifestyle. After these changes take place ...
Over the last 50 years, Europeans have invested heavily in intra-urban and urban-provincial transport, notably the railway.
Americans have a hard time in calculating the value of these investments in terms of overall economic and social cost/benefit, which goes beyond the fact that such systems in Europe are subsidized in terms of both capital outlay and operating expenses: it is still worth it in most cases (such there are instances of abuse, the train to nowhere, loafers on the job, corrupt union administrators, etc.).
Not only do Americans have trouble with the economic analysis, the zoning laws are heavily stacked against a change in transport patterns.
It's going to be a long and hard transformation, and the result will be a hodgepodge, analogous to the US health care system.
In Europe many people travel by train, tram, bike, or bus since everything is so much closer to each other. The cars are smaller, and have to be to fit in the parking spots and into the smaller one car garage. In The Netherlands the gas price is $ 11.- a gallon since there is 19% tax on gas and we have a 0.25 cent extra tax for every liter made by a former minister-president who started that in the seventies. They are in the middle of deciding to raise the sales tax to 20%!!!!
In this small country that fits 3 times into Florida, there are over 16 Million people and so many cars and traffic jams every single day.
Although this small country does a lot about green energy and seperate garbage (glass, paper, plastic, grass/leaves/food, all has to be seperated), extra taxes on buying computers, washer/dryers, camcorders, etc....just for the purpose of removing them after being used and broken, this country drills for oil!!!
The most important issue is that environment groups are holding companies from drilling and Counties are affraid of lawsuits in the USA. That is one of the reasons there isn't anymore drilling and the prices being so high. By the way the Dem. haven't done much to help solve this although they have taken over Congress, the one thing they have done is complaining and trashing Bush and not taken responsibilities where ever they can.
I'd LOVE to be able to walk to the grocery store, dry cleaners, bank, post office, clothing stores etc. But I can't. They're all built miles apart. The US has WAY more land than Europe and it's cheaper to spread out.
I'd LOVE to be able to walk to the grocery store, dry cleaners, bank, post office, clothing stores etc. But I can't. They're all built miles apart. The US has WAY more land than Europe and it's cheaper to spread out.
I'd LOVE to be able to walk to the grocery store, dry cleaners, bank, post office, clothing stores etc. But I can't. They're all built miles apart. The US has WAY more land than Europe and it's cheaper to spread out.
I can do all that I bought with it in mind, even when gas was cheap. I still see most of my neighbors driving everywhere though............even walking a mile is more than most Americans want to be bothered with. Where I live there are sidewalks but few people using them.
Again, people in Europe are not paying for gasoline in American Dollars so what it costs in UDS$ makes no difference. They are paying in Euros in most cases and as a result their costs have not risen all that much.
I get tired of the whole Europe comparision. Guess what? We're not Europe, people! And thank God for that! Let's stop comparing our country to others in order to justify what we do or don't have or pay and instead focus on what we have to work with, what needs to be done, and go from there.
Again, people in Europe are not paying for gasoline in American Dollars so what it costs in UDS$ makes no difference. They are paying in Euros in most cases and as a result their costs have not risen all that much.
Which means that Europeans having been paying high gas prices all along.
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I bought with it in mind, even when gas was cheap. I still see most of my neighbors driving everywhere though............even walking a mile is more than most Americans want to be bothered with. Where I live there are sidewalks but few people using them.
