Psst! Want some cheap gas? I found it!
Filed under: Transportation
Can a day go by without a news story regarding record high gas prices in the United States? Doubtful. We're a society of complainers, so the news is much more fun when there is something good to complain about. Gas fits the bill. Especially since it also means we get to complain about big naughty oil companies.Unfortunately, most Americans don't realize that we are blessed with incredibly low gas prices compared to many places around the world. Even as we flirt with $4 a gallon gas, that's still a bargain when you consider what consumers in other countries pay. Gas prices in the U.S. were 45th cheapest on a list of 155 countries, a survey reported by CNNMoney.com shows.
In oil-producing countries, gas is cheap. It's about 12 cents a gallon in Venezuela, 40 cents a gallon in Iran, and 45 cents a gallon in Saudi Arabia. But in and around Europe, the prices are two to two-and-a-half times higher than the U.S. Gas is $8.73 a gallon in Norway, $8.38 a gallon in the United Kingdom, $8.22 in Belgium, and $7.86 in Germany.
So the next time you get ready to complain about the high cost of gas here, maybe thinking about this study will make you feel a little better. We've still got relatively cheap gas, even though the U.S. is one of the world's biggest consumers of gas.
Tracy L. Coenen, CPA, MBA, CFE performs fraud examinations and financial investigations for her company Sequence Inc. Forensic Accounting, and is the author of Essentials of Corporate Fraud.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
5-07-2008 @ 1:06PM
Jason said...
The knowledge that the US is not taken advantage of as badly as some other countries, hardly justifies the concept that we have "cheap gas." the absolute value of the commodity is shown by its price where it is obtained, 12 to 45 cents. The rests of the price is merely a product of the greed of the oil producing nations and the laziness and desperation of the oil consuming nations. While there may be debates about the supply of oil available in one hundred years, there still exist vast untapped resources which make the constant disinformation in the news about 'shortages' and other excuses to raise prices, absurd. The only things we know for certain are that the burning of fossil fuels is bad for the environment, and we have allowed a small group of countries and people to become obscenely rich at our expense. Wake up; gas is not cheap at $3.00, or $2.00 or even $1.00. It is worth the 12 to 45 cents the fat cats charge themselves, nothing more.
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5-07-2008 @ 1:12PM
Tracy Coenen said...
Actually, if you read the article I linked to, it's likely that those pennies per gallon prices are artificially low.
Really, gas prices are all about supply and demand. Any business owner knows that the name of the game is charging the price that will net you the most, a delicate balance between maximizing the price charged but not going too high so as to discourage buyers.
Thankfully, we all have a choice to fill our gas tanks or not. We have lots of options these days that allow consumers to choose to not use gas.
5-07-2008 @ 2:16PM
Erwos said...
Tracy has the right of it. Many of those countries subsidize gasoline - it's not like it's the market price and it's just hugely abundant.
5-07-2008 @ 2:04PM
uscyeahright said...
this article is absurd, not taking into comparison currency exchanges.
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5-07-2008 @ 2:06PM
uscyeahright said...
How about we stop trying to justify $4 gas and instead take oil out of the commodities market as we see how uncontrolled speculation by terrorist countries will ruin worldwide economies
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5-07-2008 @ 2:36PM
Tracy Coenen said...
I guess I don't see it as justifying the price, as much as offering some information that indicates we're relatively better off than many other countries when it comes to gas prices.
5-09-2008 @ 7:57AM
artie said...
it has nothing to do with who pays what, it's a known fact that theres plenty of oil but we dont explore for it or the government prevents us or the environmentalists protest it, same with the refineries in this country they are old and failing yet with the windfall profits the oil companies are making why arent new refineries in the making, again the government, the environmentalists are stopping it, Bush and Channey are smart oil people. Thye dont have to worry about having enough to buy gas.
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5-09-2008 @ 11:37AM
Shanan said...
When you calculate the average distance a working American must travel to get to his/her job versus the same in our exponentially tinier European counterparts, for one thing, gas evens out, and even tilts toward the cheaper end in Europe than in the United States, which has no nationalized travel infrastructure available affordably (like a bus system in every metro area, for example).
Just saying Europe's got it worse than we do is actually the smallest part of the big picture. Take a look at their travel requirements for average families and rethink how "lucky" Americans actually are.
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5-09-2008 @ 11:39AM
Tracy Coenen said...
Actually, the fact that Americans CHOOSE to live further from their jobs really shouldn't play into it.
5-12-2008 @ 6:10PM
kevin said...
last time i looked the usa was an "oil producing "country
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