I was wrong. I can admit it.

I was wrong. I can admit it.

I've long said Americans shouldn't gripe about gas prices since we pay about half of what Europeans pay for their petrol, but it turns out I might've been wrong on that point. It turns out that Europeans actually "pay 95 cents less than Americans before taxes are levied." And the disparity in even that is explained by the weak America Dollar exchange rate used when making the comparison. So it's actually heavy taxation that makes European gasoline so expensive!

Huh. Guess I need a new tidbit to trot out at parties when talk turns to the price at the pump.

However, while the above may be true, it doesn't change the fact that American's need to change their fuel consumption habits drastically. And just imagine the reduction in our deficit if our auto fuel taxes matched the level of our neighbors across the pond!