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:: 5.05.2005 ::
Imagine paying $6.66 per gallon of gas
Sound insane? Well, that's what Norweigians pay at the pump, and their consumption is a relatively low 1.9 gallons per day (compare to Americans' 3 gallons). Taxes account for two thirds of the price of gas in Norway, and for the most part people are happy with the status quo. The price seems high to us, but then we don't live in Norway:Economists argue that gasoline prices and other auto taxes in Norway are not so expensive when measured against the annual incomes of Norwegians, among the world's highest at about $51,700 a person, or the shorter workweek of about 37.5 hours that is the norm here. (Norwegians also get five weeks of vacation a year.)
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The United States, which uses about a quarter of the world's daily oil consumption, had the cheapest gasoline prices of the 27 industrial countries measured by the International Energy Agency in its most recent analysis of fuel prices. Taxes accounted on average for just 20 percent of the price of gasoline in the United States, the agency said. Maybe we should take a page from their book, eh? PS - Norway has no foreign debt either. Full story in the New York Times, c/o the Daily Grist.
:: Deb 6:32 PM :: permalink ::
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