>To: Patrick Bailey <pbailey@qnet.com>
>From: palte@rt.el.utwente.nl (Bert Palte)
>Subject: Re: Happy Days are here again
>Cc: mgs@autox.tem.net
>Bcc:
>X-Attachments:
>
>>Hert wrote:
>>>
>>> US$4,20 per US Gallon for unleaded
>>>
>>> Peter
>>Isn't most of that cost taxes?If so why do you put up with it?If they
>>tried to put that much taxes on as here in the good ol' USA We would
>>riot!!
>>Pat
>>
>
>(Sorry Hert, I missed your message so that was two times the same
>remark from both of us...)
>
>Pat:
>
>_Of course_ most of it is taxes, about $ 3.00 / US gallon is taxes!
>
>There is a sort of ratchet mechanism here, i.e. as soon as the market
>prices drop, the taxes are immediately raised 'temporarily' by our
government, invariably justified by an expressed desire to decrease the use
of automobiles for reason of environmental issues, global warming etc.
>(the justification being that when you make gas more expensive, cars will
be used less, though
>research has shown invariably that this is not true, i.e. however high the
gas price, people will continue
>using their cars anyway. Everybody knows this, including our government, of
course).
>(Accident prevention is something that we haven't much heard from,
>in this context, lately, but in the past, that has been an argument, too!)
>
>This 'temporarily" invariably becomes 'permanent', made public preferrably
shortly after elections, and when the market prices go up, it is
systematically 'forgotten' to lower these taxes again.
>
>I've seen it happen many times here in my 25 years of motoring experience!
>
>The reality is, of course, that cars are a GOLD MINE for our government.
>You can imagine that!
>
>Inside Europe, gas prices have traditionally always been the highest in
France and
>Italy, but that is no longer true. Nowadays they are the highest here in
Holland.
>
>
>The cheapest places in Europe for gas are some specific very small
countries like Luxemburg or Andorra, where gas is sold for 'only' about
>two times the U.S. price (and where large numbers of foreign-registered
cars can always be seen to line up at gas stations, of course).
>
>
>Why 'we' don't riot?
>This has happened, during the last years, AFAIK, only in Venezuela and
Hungary after an increase in gas taxes.
>
>But, maybe you are right, it's time for a "Boston Tea Party..."
>
>
>However, all countries are not the same, e.g. over here in Holland you can
go into a 'Coffee Shop' and buy hashish, tolerated by, i.e. without any
objection from the authorities, we have fully legal porn shops and nude
beaches, just to mention a few things that foreigners are known to frown upon...
>
>Bert
>
>
>
>
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