Good questions, but of course it varies by state and on down...

Taxes on gasoline are much lower than in Europe, but on the flip side many nations actually subsidize it (China, India, and so on). That's the biggest reason that oil keeps rising ... no matter how much we try to 'conserve' here in the US other developing nations will continue to pay whatever investors push the price to because of their rapid growth. China is lending the US money these days. They don't care about higher oil prices, they will use however much they want to use...

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Dudes ... you're just NOT THAT MUCH ****ING SMARTER than all of us. GET OVER YOURSELVES!
-- Me, to President Obama and the rest of his self-loving amateur staff.