Summer is right around the corner once again, and with warmer weather comes higher gas prices. It is already $3 a gallon in many places in the U.S., and our demand for gas has already set a record for the month of March. Still, even at $4 a gallon, America pays less per gallon of gas than many European countries. One need only look at our proper cousins across the pond to see some truly terrifying gas prices.
Prices in the United Kingdom recently topped $7.00 a gallon (about $1.90 per liter), not because of lack of supply or the cost per barrel going up… but because of taxes. And frankly, it seems like drivers in the UK are fed up as they plan to protest and block gas stations across the country.
I respect civil disobedience if it gets the point across. It sounds like UK drivers are trying to do just that by foregoing the purchase of petrol on May 1st to protest new gas taxes signed off by Prime Minister Gordon Brown. These new taxes have made it so the government collects $4.42 on every gallon of gas sold. I know that taxes are an effective way of reducing ones carbon output, and that the most dramatic way to get people to change their habits is to hit them in the wallet. But at a time when the global economy is still recovering, and many people are struggling to find employment, $7 a gallon for gas is… well, it is a lot.