Off-Topic: The End of America as we know it

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	Name:	MartiniMan -
	Subject:	The End of America as we know it
	Date:	3/14/2011 12:51:26 PM

I've been hearing a lot about this guy and listened to part of it before I needed to move on.

Let me address one issue he discussed and provide some perspective that should give you pause. He makes a big deal about the price of gasoline in the U.S. compared to other countries. The fact is the difference in gas prices paid in Europe is much higher than the U.S. for one reason only, taxes. Some examples: The range of base costs for gasoline is from $1.51 in the UK up to $2.23 in Norway (its $1.55 per gallon in the U.S.). Excise taxes on every gallon of gasoline ranges from $0.27 in Mexico to $3.90 per gallon in Turkey (its on average $0.37 in the U.S.). Then you add VAT taxes which ranges from $0 in countries like the U.S. and Mexico up to $1.27 in Norway. So the fact that the U.S. has the lowest gas prices is entirely related to lower taxes and not the base price of gasoline.

As you can see the range of base gasoline prices is pretty small ($0.72) when compared to the range of excise and VAT tax costs ($4.93) which contributes to overall gasoline prices. All those countries he mentioned regarding high gasoline prices are almost entirely a result of the taxes charged by their governments and not some huge imbalance in what we have to pay versus them. His thesis that oil being valued in dollars provides us with some advantage in having access to cheap gasoline just doesn't comport with the facts. We have lower taxes on gasoline.

I will try to listen to more of it and I don't deny that he rightly points out some very big problems we have from a structural financial perspective. But if on one issue he draws conclusions based on misleading information it makes me more likely to question everything.

I am much more optimistic about the future of the country. I remember all the same dire predictions under the worthless one, Jimmy Carter and yet four years later we were back on track. What we need to do is purge our country of the current leadership in the White House as we are doing in Congress. Only then can we recover..

Other messages in this thread:

View Entire Thread

The End of America as we know it - water_watcher - 3/14/2011 8:08:21 AM

The End of America as we know it - Talullahhound - 3/14/2011 10:02:22 AM

The End of America as we know it - HARRY - 3/14/2011 10:08:08 AM

The End of America as we know it - Talullahhound - 3/14/2011 10:14:33 AM

The End of America as we know it - MartiniMan - 3/14/2011 12:51:26 PM

The End of America as we know it - Talullahhound - 3/14/2011 4:27:45 PM

The End of America as we know it - MartiniMan - 3/14/2011 5:42:49 PM

The End of America as we know it - water_watcher - 3/14/2011 5:50:08 PM

The End of America as we know it - Talullahhound - 3/14/2011 7:57:43 PM

The End of America as we know it - water_watcher - 3/14/2011 9:08:26 PM

The End of America as we know it - lotowner - 3/14/2011 10:21:36 PM

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