Disagree on this issue - my daily commute to work is eight miles each
way, in a car that returns sixty miles to the gallon. I buy about
sixty dollars of fuel a month. (Yes, I'm fortunate and others have
longer journeys and/or thirstier vehicles). High fuel prices are an
irritant but (for example) the Common Agricultural Policy puts far
more of a hole in my bank balance than high fuel prices.

If Europe was as dispersed and involved the same routine travel
distances as much of the US seemed to... but it doesn't.

So you choose not to travel. This could be for personal reasons, or it could
be fuel prices. If its the former, than high fuel prices don't impact your
quality of life, but if its the latter, than they do.

I'm not sure if its the size of our country or weather American just like to
travel our nation by car, but many (high percentage) would feel paying
$4.00US/gallon of gas was a severe negative impact on their quality of life.


BUFDRVR

"Stay on the bomb run boys, I'm gonna get those bomb doors open if it harelips
everyone on Bear Creek"