The Oil Drum

In such countries, where stiff gas taxes help induce motorists to drive small, fuel-efficient cars, the griping by Americans about high gasoline prices evokes little sympathy. Ruth Bridger, a spokeswoman for the AA Motoring Trust, a British consumer advocacy group, said Britons look at the sport-utility vehicles that dominate U.S. highways and think, "Serves you right."

The article notes some countries impose hefty taxes that help the state budget. They are under pressure to scale them back to make gas more affordable. Other countries subsidize gas and are getting their budgets hit hard.

In India, which imports about 75 percent of its crude oil, domestic fuel prices have risen less than one-third as fast as international prices, according to Hans Timmer, an economist at the World Bank; the government's failure to implement a system of market-determined prices caused state-owned refineries to lose $4.6 billion in 2004.

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Indonesians have been paying about 90 cents a gallon for gasoline -- until this weekend, that is, when the government of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono announced that gasoline prices would nearly double and kerosene prices would triple. Officials said they had no choice, since fuel subsidies have swelled to about one-third of government spending. Word of the impending price hike sparked protests in many cities; on Friday, police were using tear gas to disperse thousands of demonstrators. The reaction was muted compared with the deadly rioting triggered by previous price hikes, but the government is bracing for possible violence as the impact sinks in.

People in oil exporting countries seem especially pissed because they expect plentiful oil within the country would translate to (perpetually?) cheap gas. The article doesn't make the point explicitly, but anger is directed not just at government but ultimately globalization and the largest consumers.