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Politics : Formerly About Advanced Micro Devices -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Don Hurst who wrote (609675)	5/2/2011 12:37:00 PM
From: Brumar89	Respond to of 1578270

I'll take that as a no.

To: Don Hurst who wrote (609675)	5/2/2011 12:38:16 PM
From: tejek	Respond to of 1578270

America’s Low Gas Prices: A Global Perspective Last week, with gas prices already hovering around $4 per gallon, the Maryland General Assembly refused to raise the state gasoline tax. Local legislator Joseph “Sonny” Minnick said exactly what all legislators, regardless of rank or nickname, are supposed to say in this situation: “With the economy the way it is, gas prices what they are, voting for a gas tax increase would be political suicide.” That politicians are fearful of confronting Keyser Soze, despite the potential benefits of doing so, is nothing new to readers of this space. The question is why such a relatively low increase on the cost of such a desired good has become such an outlandish request. Our good friends at Good put the cost of gasoline into everyday perspective: Even at $4, gasoline costs a bit less per gallon than milk or orange juice, way less than shampoo or lattes, and way way less than other essentials like nail polish or Guinness: In case that comparison is a bit too gasoline-to-Guinness for you, let us introduce our new friends at FlowingData, who have created a map of the world that compares America’s gas prices to those around the rest of the world. It turns out people in the United States pay a bit less than people in Russia and China, way less than people in India, Japan, and Eastern Europe, and way way less than people in Western Europe: Petrol costs Brits at least twice more than what gasoline costs Americans. Lest readers join me in worrying about that little “Source: Wikipedia” hidden in the corner of this map, the data appear to harmonize with the latest international fuel prices study (pdf)* performed by GIZ. The graphic at the top of this post comes from this study, and I have tried to highlight America’s position with the only image-rendering box feature of iPhoto. As anyone with 20/5 vision can clearly see, the United States stands firmly at the left of a graphic in which gas prices increase to the right. So Americans pay just a touch more at the pump than what is paid in Azerbaijan, and just a tad less than what is paid in Iraq. The pump situation is much worse in OMG socialism countries like Sweden or the Netherlands. Of course, things could always be better. You could live in Venezuela, where, for whatever reason, gasoline is not so much paid for as given away. Or you could live in Libya, where it is probably best to avoid too much carefree driving right now, low gas prices or not. * The new GIZ study is a preliminary one, but the most recent full report, from 2009, presents the same picture. infrastructurist.com