$3.33 gallon down the street on the six-lane at RaceTrac.

$1.19/l out here in Abbotsford. Translated $4.51/US gallon ($4.40US) or $5.40/Imp gallon (3.39 Pound Sterling).

__________________
I don't know the same things that you don't know.

Shayne

85 W126 SD OM617.951
87 409D 650S OM617.913
93 E34 Touring M50B25TU
02 E46 Sport M54B30TU

I pay over $300.00 a month for my healthcare insurance, and diesel is $3.33 US GAL. here in Texas.

Sounds like a wash to me.

Just a general comment. Prices for decades where really substantially lower south of the Canadian border. Your actual rate of inflation declared or ortherwise is higher and has been than ours for quite a period of time. At least two or more decades in fact.

The price differences are slowly growing closer and closer. At one time in relation to us Canadians you had a much greater differential in your favour than currently.

I of course am not sure where this is all going. Yet parity of prices may become normal or even ours less than yours if the trend does not stop. You have yet to be subject to more hidden taxes I suspect. We already have them and increasing them here is not likely but in the states far more probable.

One change here that is signifigant is the spread in incomes widening so fast also in my opinion. I think our total household income in retirement is far more than it should be for example. At the same time there are people working their posteriors off just getting by.

I have no ideal how long this odd senario will remain. There is talk at the political level of outlawing poverty. So the powers that be are well aware of the issue. Unresolved it would eventually bring social unrest to some degree.

The cities first of course. The American society is showing some symptoms of social issues and the resultant stress for quite awhile now as well. All of a sudden we are restricting imigration this year in Canada to much lower levels. Things are changing.

Fuel for example may have been twice as high as yours only a few years ago. Now it approaches just a twenty five percent differential.

Canada will always be taxed at a higher rate, to pay for all your more costly social programs. Nothing is free, that's why your taxes are so much higher - including gasoline and diesel fuel. Free healthcare has a price - it's in the fuel costs for one source to collect as a tax.

$1.39/liter in most places on the east coast of Australia. You guys get it cheap !!

__________________
Grumpy Old Diesel Owners Club group

I no longer question authority, I annoy authority. More effect, less effort....

1967 230-6 auto parts car. rust bucket.
1980 300D now parts car 800k miles
1984 300D 500k miles
1987 250td 160k miles English import
2001 jeep turbo diesel 130k miles
1998 jeep tdi ~ followed me home. Needs a turbo.
1968 Ford F750 truck. 6-354 diesel conversion.
Other toys ~J.D.,Cat & GM ~ mainly earth moving

High time Americans see European (currently around $7.72/gallon in Germany, seen at least as high as $9.40/gallon in the Netherlands) gasoline prices. It might help them see (not as a communist plot) modern efficient ubiquitous public transportation e.g. high speed rail (or just a non laughable rail system, for goodness sake), small diesel powered cars that routinely get over 45mpg (more than 50% of the European private fleet) and have their kids walk or bike to school instead of being 3 ton SUV'd by mom who then drives to the gym.

Making the "inner city" livable for everyone, not just the (darker skinned) underclass, (also seen as a communist plot) would reduce (often unnecessary - telecommuting anyone?) absurd commutes in from equally absurd mc mansion burbs.

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'83 SD, 2x '85 SD
You are entitled to your own opinions, you are not entitled to your own facts.

I think you're way off base. This is about government sponsored social programs and economics, and the taxes needed to support that spending - not race, as you indicate.

Much of Europe is heading in the austerity direction. They have learned that a diminishing population of workers and earlier retirements, free healthcare, to name just a few, have caused the taxation sytem to spiral upward as reflected in the fuel costs you quoted. Those three items drive taxes collected at the fuel pump in European countries.

We haven't learned that yet as a people in America. That is that social entitlement programs of all sorts are what drives taxation. As reflected in taxes collected at the fuel pump.

Public transportation of all description is a net tax increase to the general population. That is why financially it doesn't work and won't work here.

If you want lower taxes at the gas/diesel pump, cut the social programs. Since a country's social (welfare) programs are what drives taxes at the pump.

Public transportation fuels increases in taxation, not less, and has no effect on diminishing the costs of fuel. That dog won't hunt.

In Des Moines $3.49 at the moment.

With the crisis widening in the middle-east the worry over oil will cause prices to rise further I'm sorry to say, I expect diesel and gasoline prices to go up again sometime this week.

The divergence between Brent and WTI is narrowing a little I think, WTI is a worthless benchmark to follow anyway, it's been worthless now for several years. If you want to know what drives fuel prices it won't be WTI.

I'm sorry to say that I believe we (Fed / States) have made more promises then they can keep, promises that may have been viable had a bubble kept expanding, but since 2008 is long past and we're now on the backside of the bursting bubble these promises are no longer viable. Social programs will have to be cut, it's huge part of the Fed budget, something must be done.

Unions do no good when there's no money to be had, you either accept less or you get nothing (let go).

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Steve A
92 W140 OM603
97 VW Jetta TDI
90 Passat variant TDI 6 speed MT
94 Chevy K1500 6.5TD
05 E320 CDI
+ others

~ 47c/liter of direct tax on diesel in Australia. Probably nearly 20c in indirect tax.

__________________
Grumpy Old Diesel Owners Club group

I no longer question authority, I annoy authority. More effect, less effort....

1967 230-6 auto parts car. rust bucket.
1980 300D now parts car 800k miles
1984 300D 500k miles
1987 250td 160k miles English import
2001 jeep turbo diesel 130k miles
1998 jeep tdi ~ followed me home. Needs a turbo.
1968 Ford F750 truck. 6-354 diesel conversion.
Other toys ~J.D.,Cat & GM ~ mainly earth moving

Going for $3.20-$3.55/gal. here in Indiana we have some of the biggest refinerys in the country in N.W. In. and we have just about the highest prices for fuel go figure especially when it takes less refineing to make diesel then gas it used to be and should be cheaper then gas.

$3.50 to $3.65 today. With crude oil going way up, we will see it at the pumps very soon. Up 6% today to $95+/barrel !!!!

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1987 300TD 147,000 miles- Palomino leather interior, 1995 facelift and body cladding, E350 wheels, Rebuilt suspension and sport springs, rebuilt turbo, New Monarch injection pump and injectors....and the list goes on and on...

There is actually only a 5% disparity in total tax when comparing the average income in Canada and the US. Lower income Canadians are actually taxed less while higher income Canadians are taxed more than their US counterparts.

A middle class American pays about 30% of his income in tax while the same Canadian pays 35%. This is the total tax burden: income, sales, property, etc.

Some additional information. If you exclude the European Union the US is ranked #1 in GDP (Canada is ranked #8) yet when the standard of living using income, life expectancy and education is ranked the US comes in at #12 (Canada ranks #8). Most European countries rank above the US in quality of life.
There is an argument against reducing social programs.

Edit: Interesting to note that Oz ranks #13 in GDP yet ranks #2 in quality of life and standard of living.

The additional cost in taxes on Canadian fuel is used used solely for infrastructure. Municipalities get 10% of that for their infrastructure. Bigger country, less people.

__________________
I don't know the same things that you don't know.

Shayne

85 W126 SD OM617.951
87 409D 650S OM617.913
93 E34 Touring M50B25TU
02 E46 Sport M54B30TU

I haven't bought diesel since last fall, so I was shocked last night to see Diesel priced at $3.79. And Unleaded regular gas has been around $2.80 for months, then suddenly it's $3.20 - almost overnight.

This is no surprise for me, though. I've been predicting $3.50 to $4.00 gas this summer. And if Iran gets up to too much shenanigans, prices could go higher than $5.00 gal.

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1979 240D, 4spd manual, Power Sunroof, manual windows, 147k miles, Pastel gray/Black MB Tex.
1991 300D 2.5 - Smokes like it's on Crack!

$3.55 a couple days ago. Anyone remember paying $4.97/Gallon 3-4 years ago during a spike? If you want to make a people pay a higher price for something, just double the price for a couple weeks and then drop it down to just 25% over initial price and people will be excited about it. Kinda sounds like "tax returns" huh?

Ron Paul 2012

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1987 300TDT - 195,000 (Original #14 head)
1993 190E 2.3 - 105,000
1981 300D - 250,000