from TFA
Quote:
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Americans have taken advantage of cheap gas prices to do other things - like buy bigger cars and bigger houses further away from city centers
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That's the point: The lower gas tax in the US has "fueled" what even the president recognized as an addiction to oil. With higher cost of gas, the share of larger vehicles as well as the suburban sprawl would have been less extreme, lowering consumption overall - and - making the economy less vulnerable to price spikes.
It doesn't mean European countries are less vulnerable to fuel price increases because it's more expensive to start with. That's nonsense. They're less vulnerable, because fuel is a lower portion of the economy, which is a direct consequence of decades of high fuel prices.
Here is someone copying my old line of "
gas is too cheap". I guess it's better late than never... Another recent argument I can't find the source for is "wouldn't you rather pay a gas tax that goes to your own government, than the high gas price that goes to the Saudis, Russians and Venezuelans that aren't necessarily our best friends?"
