One difference, of course, is that in the UK people don't commute 60-90
miles one-way to work; by car, that is (maybe by train). Not that I think
that that is a remotely sane thing to do, but tens of thousands of people in
my area must do it, and they keep building subdivisions farther and farther
out. The low US gas taxes are essentially subsidizing these people and the
real estate developers, since they do not remotely recover the related costs
to society (freeway construction, widening, and maintenance; expanded
highway patrols; water and sewer hookups to remote areas; school and
infrastructure construction in outlying areas while closing schools and
services in inner cities; loss of farmland near cities, hence increased
transportation costs for food; air and water pollution; climate change,
etc.). I gripe about high gas costs, too, but what galls me about it is that
the price increases go to paying the chairman of Exxon $120,000 A DAY (you
can look it up) rather than to the government for desperately required
highway maintenance, if nothing else.
[end of rant]
--
Max Heim
'66 MGB GHN3L76149
If you're near Mountain View, CA,
it's the primer red one with chrome wires
on 4/19/06 7:59 AM, ATWEDITOR@aol.com at ATWEDITOR@aol.com wrote:
> Ouch! I guess the best that can said for prices like we have today is that
> shortages will be less likely for the foreseeable future. But, oh, what a
> pain!
>
> Jay Donoghue
>
>
> In a message dated 4/19/06 10:46:02 AM, r.gosling@penspen.com writes:
>
>
>> Petrol prices in the UK today (at least where I live) are 90.0p/litre,
>> which works out at $6.16 per US gallon at todays exchange rate ($1.79/#).
> Maybe
>> I should dust off my push-bike...
>>
>> Richard & Sammy
>>
>>
>
>
>
>
>
> J.A. Donoghue
> Director of Publications
> Flight Safety Foundation
> 601 Madison Street
> Suite 300
> Alexandria, Virginia, USA
> 22314-1756
> Phone: +1 (703) 739-6700 ext 116
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