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Britain’s Gas Crisis: Our Future?

Gasoline prices are going through the roof again! While American’s are paying between 60 and 80 cents a gallon more, the British are paying £2.50 per liter and a 17% value added tax (VAT) on top of those robber baron prices. It works out to something between $12 and $14 per gallon. Truckers are refusing to make deliveries, because they no longer can afford to be in business.

Both Britain and France are experiencing panic and shortages reminiscent of the gas lines in this country during the Carter years. While truckers refuse to make deliveries, and instead, blockade oil refineries, the British economy is grinding to a halt and people are understandably quite angry.

So who is to blame--OPEC, the oil companies, or Tony Blair's Government?

This entire crisis is caused by an artificially high gas price. Yes, the $30 per barrel OPEC price does not help matters, but $30 a barrel does not translate into $12 per gallon gas prices. A greedy, socially liberal, and ecologically extreme policy is fueling this crisis.

Fact: 71% of the gasoline price in Great Britain is tax.

Fact: Gas prices have been increased by government policy each year using something called the escalator. The escalator for gasoline taxes is the rate of inflation plus 6%. This is assessed each year. This is a handy source of funds for the British Treasury.

Fact: The VAT is on top of the gas price and based on the recent spike in prices, it should net the British Government an additional £ 4 billion.

Fact: The stated policy of these high taxes is to discourage the use of automobiles in order to prevent global warming—more bad science.

Prime Minister Tony Blair has the statutory authority to relieve the problem by lowering gasoline taxes, but he steadfastly refuses to make such a common sense move. Instead, Mr. Blair seems determined to drive his country’s economy into recession. It is liberalism run amok. Why should Mr. Blair change his mind, he has no fear of the people.

After all, what can the British citizen do?

They can wring their hands and gripe about the heavy tax burden. This is the government they elected.

And what will the British do when the cops or the army or whatever national agency moves in with force to break up the blockade at the refineries and deliver gasoline? The government confiscated all the privately owned firearms in the nineties. Mr. Blair has a monopoly on force, he controls the government, and he is determined to enforce his flawed worldview.

Is this America’s future?

Al Gore is a candidate who has embraced similar policies regarding the environment, taxes and gun control. America fought two wars in 1776 and 1812 to gain its freedom from the Old World. A vote for Al Gore is an endorsement of the current British mess.

Is this America’s future?

I guess it depends on you.

Douglas De Bono / DouglasDeBono.Com Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota E-Mail readermail@DouglasDeBono.Com