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A huge amount of domestic oil would still be in the ground if the US had European level taxes on fuel. That would be political suicide though as so many Americans have built a lifestyle on the basis of having unlimited supplies of relatively cheap fuel.

In theory, it wouldn't need to be political suicide, because oil products were also lightly taxed in Europe, till they weren't. Somebody somewhere along the line managed to make the decision to raise taxes, knowing it would be highly unpopular.

In practice, politics in the USA is already a suicidal activity in itself, regardless of the policies you wish to implement, and I fail to see why anybody wants to go into politics these days. I seriously wonder why there are American politicians that still give a damn about public opinion, considering that public opinion these days just goes with whatever is the latest culture war, but I guess I just don't understand politics.

Doly wrote: I seriously wonder why there are American politicians that still give a damn about public opinion, considering that public opinion these days just goes with whatever is the latest culture war, but I guess I just don't understand politics.

Why in the world would you think there are ANY American politicians left that give a damn? About anything other than the contributions they get to get reelected, to go back to Washington and have a cool gig where all they have to do is pretend to care?

Why in the world would you think there are ANY American politicians left that give a damn?

Well, some of them make noises like they do, but as I say, I guess I don't understand politics. Maybe they don't and they make those noises for reasons I don't understand.