[sandgk]

Originally Posted by fourteenandoh

Cook county has the highest gas tax of any place in the country

Thank goodness, today, we don't have percentage based taxation (VAT) on gasoline (like Europe - or like what would be in place with a "Flat" tax) - instead we have a simple per gallon tax.

Originally Posted by mstevmac

I'm so sick of this gas [censored]. [censored] the animals let's start worrying about us humans. Start drilling here in the U.S.

It simply isn't the case that there is any shortage of gasoline whatsoever. Right now supply likely exceeds demand.
(Telegraph.co.uk Business Section).

The perfect storm that has swept oil prices to $132 a barrel may subside over the coming months as rising crude supply from unexpected corners of the world finally comes on stream, just as the global economic downturn begins to bite.
The forces behind the meteoric price rise this spring are slowly receding. Nigeria has boosted output by 200,000 barrels a day (BPD) this month, making up most of the shortfall caused by rebel attacks on pipelines in April.
The Geneva consultancy PetroLogistics says Iraq has added 300,000 bpd to a total of 2.57m as security is beefed up in the northern Kirkuk region.
"There is a strong rebound in supply," said the group's president Conrad Gerber.
Saudi Arabia is adding 300,000 bpd to the market in response to a personal plea from President George Bush, and to placate angry Democrats on Capitol Hill - even though Riyadh insists that there are abundant supplies for sale.
Like the rest of Opec, the Saudis blame "speculators" for running amok, pushing paper contracts into the stratosphere.
The ever-diminishing reserves of oil in the earth's crust will doubtless drive crude prices to much higher levels over time - provided no new technology such as nuclear fusion abruptly changes the picture - but that will not stop cyclical ups and downs along the way.
The world's finely balanced market for crude has been creeping into surplus for several weeks. Opec's monthly report says that demand this quarter will average 85.75m bpd. Supply was 86.8m bpd in April. The fresh output from Nigeria, Iraq and Saudi Arabia may push it significantly further into surplus.
The signs are already surfacing in global inventories. Opec says that stocks held by the OECD club of rich countries are above their five-year average, with "comfortable" cover for 53 days' use. US stocks have edged up for the last four months, though they fell last week.

And when things like the following happen - (Times UK) - you know that matters are really serious.

Saudi Arabia today called for a summit of oil producing countries and consumers to discuss how to prevent oil prices from soaring further, following last week's surge to a record high of $139 a barrel.
The country's Information and Culture Minister, Iyad Madani, said that the kingdom would work with OPEC to "guarantee the availability of oil supplies now and in the future".
In a statement following the weekly meeting of the Saudi Cabinet, Mr Madani said the current price of oil was unjustified and pledged action to prevent further "unwarranted and unnatural" price hikes

This is a sign, to me, that the Saudis are seriously concerned that some market factors, beyond those under their control like supply and volume, are reaching the point of cooking the goose (read us the consumers of their product) that lay their golden eggs.

Such factors may include - the declining value of petro-dollars, speculation on paper contracts and the like.

Ironically as they are a substantial importer of refined gasoline Iran fails to see any need for such a meeting:

But Iran, a fellow OPEC member, said earlier that it did not see the need for a special summit before the organisation's next scheduled meeting in September. The record prices had nothing to do with a supply shortage, it added.