[Stitch]

Originally Posted by Naren

You were right in that UK gallons are 4.55 liters.

But my price of $8.31 would be an accurate conversion, while your gallon rate would be $10.01 which would be even more ridiculous.

Yeah, it would be anarchy in the US if gas prices got that expensive (without the dollar inflating as well). I can't even imagine $10 for a gallon of gas. That could cost over $100 to fill your tank.

As it stands, a saloon car over here will quite happily cost over £40 to fill up - $82.60.

Regardless of inflation or lack thereof of the USD, you guys simply don't pay what your petrol is worth, and you don't get taxed the obscene amount we do. Of the $2.20 per litre, between $1.20 and $1.60 is tax - I can't remember the exact figure.

[Naren]

Originally Posted by Stitch

As it stands, a saloon car over here will quite happily cost over £40 to fill up - $82.60.

Regardless of inflation or lack thereof of the USD, you guys simply don't pay what your petrol is worth, and you don't get taxed the obscene amount we do. Of the $2.20 per litre, between $1.20 and $1.60 is tax - I can't remember the exact figure.

Then why HAVE a car? I really don't see the point. I mean, in most parts of the US, a car is absolutely necessary to get anywhere, but in many parts of Europe, it isn't (not all, obviously).

I don't have a car here in Japan or a motorcycle. Even if someone gave me one, I'd sell it immediately. They're just more expensive than they're worth: insurance, the cost of the vehicle itself, the insane price of gas, the costs involved for keeping it checked up and fixing it when it breaks... I'm glad that I live in a country where I am not inconvenienced at all by not owning an "automobile."

Edit: And I don't see why the British government is raping you on taxes. It'd be expensive enough JUST paying the taxes alone.

[Toshiro]

Our entire infrastructure is based on the automobile, this is why people over here flip out over gas prices.

We've dug our own grave on this one.

[garcia3441]

Originally Posted by Naren

Edit: And I don't see why the British government is raping you on taxes. It'd be expensive enough JUST paying the taxes alone.

To help pay for their social services.

(Correct me if I'm wrong.)

[Nick]

Originally Posted by Naren

Then why HAVE a car? I really don't see the point. I mean, in most parts of the US, a car is absolutely necessary to get anywhere, but in many parts of Europe, it isn't (not all, obviously).

I don't have a car here in Japan or a motorcycle. Even if someone gave me one, I'd sell it immediately. They're just more expensive than they're worth: insurance, the cost of the vehicle itself, the insane price of gas, the costs involved for keeping it checked up and fixing it when it breaks... I'm glad that I live in a country where I am not inconvenienced at all by not owning an "automobile."

Edit: And I don't see why the British government is raping you on taxes. It'd be expensive enough JUST paying the taxes alone.

because our public transportation system is for want of a better phrase 'fucking shit'

If i want to get to my home from the city centre after 11pm at night and without owning a car i have 2 options Pay for a cab which would run me $22 ish or walk in which case i would be home approximatley 3 and a half hours after leaving

Our public transport is also expensive. So owning a vehicle is the lesser fo 2 evils really.

Most european countries have great public transport which runs 24/7 but we have very few services like that here in glasgow and none that run anywhere near where i live.

[Stitch]

^ What Nick said.

Its hardly an issue for me now - I live less than one minute from the city centre - but in my old house, out on the suburbs, you had one bus every half an hour. It meandered into town taking 45 minutes to achieve a journey that takes 20 in the car, charged me £2.30 (almost $5) for the privelage - and that was one-way - I then had to pay that coming home too. It stopped running at about 10pm and didnt start again til 6am, so you either didn't have nights out or you stayed with friends.

Parking is a bitch over here too, but at least in a car you don't get the baolute fucking NUTTERS you do on the public transport system, which seems to be the den of the drunk, homeless, 15&pregnant and the religious loons who are very ill in the head.

The car doesn't smell of cider, vomit, urine and smoke, either.

[Nick]

Originally Posted by garcia3441

To help pay for their social services.

(Correct me if I'm wrong.)

sorry wait a minute while i wipe the coke i just sprayed all over my monitor off...

Our social services are absolutley horrible.

If i need some sort of surgery i could wait like 4 months before its done. even if its time sensitive.

I play for my countrys basketball team. if i want to play basketball in a regulation size gym it will cost me roughly £100 to rent the gym for an hr and in some places double that.

When i lived in america i could walk into an open gym session for free.

There were outdoor courts all over the place allong with places people could play football and baseball.

we hardly have any outdoor facilities here at all basketball courts are very rare and even soccer pitches which youd think would be all over the place are few and far between and the ones that are there are not maintained and so end up getting ripped down or left to fall down, grass gets overgrown etc.

(im using sport as an example here as its one im familiar with)

When we say we get raped on tax we really mean it because we give them something and never get it back!!!!!

the only people that benifit from our high taxation are people who break the law and or take drugs and who really dont deserve anything.



rant\

[The Dark Wolf]

Originally Posted by Stitch

^ What Nick said.

Its hardly an issue for me now - I live less than one minute from the city centre - but in my old house, out on the suburbs, you had one bus every half an hour. It meandered into town taking 45 minutes to achieve a journey that takes 20 in the car, charged me £2.30 (almost $5) for the privelage - and that was one-way - I then had to pay that coming home too. It stopped running at about 10pm and didnt start again til 6am, so you either didn't have nights out or you stayed with friends.

Parking is a bitch over here too, but at least in a car you don't get the baolute fucking NUTTERS you do on the public transport system, which seems to be the den of the drunk, homeless, 15&pregnant and the religious loons who are very ill in the head.

The car doesn't smell of cider, vomit, urine and smoke, either.

Welcome to almost every city in the US, Stitch. Our public transit, with a few exceptions (New York, DC, Boston... maybe Philly and Chicago) is abysmal. Utterly.

[garcia3441]

Originally Posted by The Dark Wolf

Our public transit, with a few exceptions (New York, DC, Boston... maybe Philly and Chicago) is abysmal. Utterly.

The closest bus stop to my house is about 9.5 miles.

[garcia3441]

Originally Posted by Nick

If i need some sort of surgery i could wait like 4 months before its done. even if its time sensitive.

Thankfully I didn't have to wait, but within weeks of being unable to pay I started getting calls from collection agencies.

There were outdoor courts all over the place allong with places people could play football and baseball.

we hardly have any outdoor facilities here at all basketball courts are very rare and even soccer pitches which youd think would be all over the place are few and far between and the ones that are there are not maintained and so end up getting ripped down or left to fall down, grass gets overgrown etc.

Here you'd better have a gun. The neighborhoods that the outdoor courts are located aren't exactly the safest.