Originally Posted by
LostBoizdown
Wrong.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:G...edium_Term.png
Nice try though. And about gas prices in Europe: when I was living there last fall, my roommate was a guy from Sweden. One day we were talking about gas pricing and he said "man, you guys basically get it for free." It's true. Gas isn't sold by the gallon, it's by the liter; in Austria it was maybe 1.25-1.75 euro per liter. It doesn't matter if the pound or the euro is stronger than the dollar, it's still more expensive there. That's part of the reason so many more people ride public transportation (necessity = better developed = more people = necessity) on the other side of the pond.
The reason it costs more in the UK and Europe is taxes, plain and simple, sometimes comprising up to 75% of the price in some countries, compared to about 20% in the US. Aside from taxes, MoGas is a free flowing commodity that, if all things being equal (taxes, tariffs, distribution network, etc.) should be priced the same over time (short term differences are common).
That being said, how many people would vote for adding two dollars in gasoline taxes to each gallon of gas in the US? In fact, when gas prices went to $3 last year, many areas actually capped the taxes to keep a lower price.