that's very misleading... the majority of that is spent on road projects so we can safely pilot our oil thirsty machines without destoying them. The Federal Highway Administration not only builds federal highways but also provides funding for local roads through grant programs, I would rather have decent roads to drive on than to fight dirt roads or pay a toll everytime I drove on pavement (private roadway)

 

The enviromentalists pay lobbiest to push their agenda in congress. They do not won't anymore refineries built because the are "bad for the enviroment and it will harm the children". There has not been a refinery built in almost 30 years, thanks to the tree huggers. Yet, the demand has almost doubled ih the same time period. If the oil companies built more refineries they could prduce more gas and make more money. Then all the teachers, police, fireman, etc. would have more money in their pension funds. Along with the other investors that have stock in the oil co. The oil companies are owned by the public. Its what makes America the greatest country on the planet. By the way it would cost several billion to build a new refinery. The goverment tells the oil cos where they can and cannot drill, where they can explore, how they can and cannot move the oil. And now they try to blame them for price gouging when there profit magin is in the 8-9% range. This means for every dollar they invest they get a return off 8-9 cents. Banks have a profit margin of 17%, drug cos. 18%. How come they are not rapping the public. If you spent 100,000 dollars a year and only made 8,000- 9,000 a year would you be ripping people off. Think.

 

Actually, only about 40% of the gas tax money goes to maintain roads and buid new ones. The rest goes into the general fund. The government also takes in millions on taxes imposed on trucking cos. It is common knowledge where the money goes. I'm not saying they should not tax gas. Just pointing out how the govt has no money at risk yet takes in roughly 5 time the amount off money that the oil cos. do on their product. If they pass a law that limits how much profit a co can make we are all in trouble. Where does it stop?

 

Opec can go to hell. They are a big part of the problem. They say one thing and do another. If they wanted a barrel of oil to cost 51.00/barrel all they have to do is pull more out of the ground, but they refuse to do so.