Well, maybe we could have more, OBrien blithely
replied.
Every American motorist already pays 18 cents on the
gallon to Uncle Sam and anywhere from 8 to 45 cents per gallon to
state governments, according to figures compiled by the
American Petroleum Institute. In fact, the
Energy Department estimates taxes account for 19 percent of the price of a gallon of
gasoline, nearly as much as the 22 percent of the price that goes to
refining costs.
OBrien was reacting to a report showing purchases of
gasoline-inefficient vehicles are as popular as ever with consumers.
According to the
Power Information Network,
in January, February, and March, Americans bought big, huge cars at
the same rate they did before. Eight-cylinder cars that take a lot
of gas to run, Costello noted, adding that gas prices have had only
a short-term impact on how much people travel.
Costello suggested that blaming President Bush or oil
companies ignores the heavy consumer demand that drives up gas
prices. While we may drive less in the short term, its always the
short term, because 1.5 percent were driving 1.5 percent more than
we did last year, so really consumers arent doing their part, to
keep gas prices down, Costello argued, citing a recent survey.
CNNs OBrien: Maybe We Could Have More Gas Taxes
April 25th, 2006 2:00 PM
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