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"The entire market has dramatically shifted to light trucks and SUVs with gas under $3 a gallon." I did a double take at that as price per gallon seems markedl

"The entire market has dramatically shifted to light trucks and SUVs with gas under $3 a gallon." I did a double take at that as price per gallon seems markedly lower than when I was last in the US. UK prices ratchet seemingly inexorably upwards. When US prices peaked in 08 at $4.50 we paid pretty much exactly what we pay now - £5 approx. Tax is around 65% of pump price, though it's been higher in the past. I assume there's no US attempts to increase taxation to combat clmate change and encourage alternative behaviour.

mikeash 10y ago
Around here, prices are currently a little over $2/gallon, with occasional stations showing slightly under $2. Of course there's no attempt to increase taxes, because taxation is theft and government is the enemy. The federal gas tax hasn't been increased since 1993, and worse it's a fixed amount per gallon, not a percentage, so both inflation and increasing fuel efficiency cut into it. State gas taxes are a little more mutable but still face lots of resistance.
- anexprogrammer 10y ago
  Blimey. No surprise sales of hybrids aren't growing. We had, under Blair, yearly percentage increases above inflation in fuel tax as part of their climate change efforts. There was a point, I forget quite where - perhaps around 99p a litre or £4.40 a gallon, where behaviour and car use started to noticeably change.
  - mikeash 10y ago
    Yeah, it's kind of crazy. When gas prices started to retreat from the $4/gallon peak around 2008, there was talk of increasing gas taxes to compensate. Not just for climate change, but also because efficiency is hitting gas tax revenue and that money is needed to build and maintain roads. But it's a tough sell when half of the electorate thinks climate change is a conspiracy and government always wastes its money, so nothing happened.
fps 10y ago
Gas in my area has been around $2/gallon for a few years now. (https://blog.gasbuddy.com/Retail_Price_Chart.aspx https://blog.gasbuddy.com/Retail_Price_Chart.aspx) The current price right now in Boston is $1.91.

mikeash 10y ago

Around here, prices are currently a little over $2/gallon, with occasional stations showing slightly under $2. Of course there's no attempt to increase taxes, because taxation is theft and government is the enemy. The federal gas tax hasn't been increased since 1993, and worse it's a fixed amount per gallon, not a percentage, so both inflation and increasing fuel efficiency cut into it. State gas taxes are a little more mutable but still face lots of resistance.

anexprogrammer 10y ago
Blimey. No surprise sales of hybrids aren't growing. We had, under Blair, yearly percentage increases above inflation in fuel tax as part of their climate change efforts. There was a point, I forget quite where - perhaps around 99p a litre or £4.40 a gallon, where behaviour and car use started to noticeably change.
- mikeash 10y ago
  Yeah, it's kind of crazy. When gas prices started to retreat from the $4/gallon peak around 2008, there was talk of increasing gas taxes to compensate. Not just for climate change, but also because efficiency is hitting gas tax revenue and that money is needed to build and maintain roads. But it's a tough sell when half of the electorate thinks climate change is a conspiracy and government always wastes its money, so nothing happened.

fps 10y ago

Gas in my area has been around $2/gallon for a few years now. (https://blog.gasbuddy.com/Retail_Price_Chart.aspx https://blog.gasbuddy.com/Retail_Price_Chart.aspx) The current price right now in Boston is $1.91.