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August 2003, Week 4

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Subject:
Re: OT: [HP3000-L] Gas Price Whining
From:
"Gates, Scott" <[log in to unmask]>
Reply To:
Gates, Scott
Date:
Thu, 28 Aug 2003 08:40:00 -0400
Content-Type:
text/plain
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text/plain (44 lines) 
Perhaps the other nations are adding in the tax to counter the true social
cost, beyond simply maintaining roads. Here in America, where we have quite
a lot of room for suburban sprawl.  Building new U.S. roads(and parking
lots, and on ramps, and gas-stations, and all the rest of the structures
that go along with cars) is cheap in comparison to the cost of the loss of
land in Europe which could be put to other use. So, rather than pave the
whole country, they use the tax to maintain existing roads, subsidize
alternate transportation, and limit the need for new roads by discouraging
excessive car use.  In Europe, passenger rail is heavily subsidized. Travel
by European rail is relatively cheap for the individual. (OK, yes they're
paying it in taxes, but if they're getting a tangible benefit back. . . .)
Here AMTRAK is expensive because it's expected to attempt to turn a profit
and it's subsidy is on the chopping block every year. Yet, no one expects
our ROADS to be profitable.  If they were, tolls for use of the U.S.
Interstate System from Columbus, Ohio to Orlando, Florida could be several
hundred dollars, making an train ticket to Disney World look very appealing.
It's all a trade off.

-----Original Message-----
From: Wayne R. Boyer [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: Wednesday, August 27, 2003 8:58 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: [HP3000-L] OT: [HP3000-L] Gas Price Whining


In a message dated 8/27/03 1:14:01 PM Pacific Daylight Time, [log in to unmask]
writes:


> We've known for some time that our gasoline is artificially cheap.

I dispute that.  Many other nations simply have far higher gas taxes causing
their resulting total gas prices to be artificially higher than ours.  If
they would stop hurting their citizens with high gas taxes, they too would
have prices like ours - or lower!

Wayne

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