American gas is not cheap. In absolute-numbers-sense, it's comparable to the current prices in Russia. And by all means and for all the different reasons, one would expect gasoline to be enormously expensive there right now. Far more expensive than in the States. It doesn't seem to be the case.

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Aurornis a day ago | parent [-]

> American gas is not cheap.

Yes it is. I don’t know why you picked Russia to compare to. Russia’s government heavily intervenes in markets to keep prices low, including subsidizing refineries and banning exports at times. The fact that our prices are as low as theirs means our gas is cheap.

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iLemming a day ago | parent [-]

I feel like you have not watched any videos of what's going on there right now. People lining up to buy any gas, and those lines are miles long, sometimes they have to wait for 8-10 hours. The crisis now causing shortages in neighboring countries - Central Asian republics and Mongolia. Average gas prices jumped considerably - 8-10x, and you'd think, well, how expensive the gas then? And it's about $4 per gallon. So, just like I said - the "cheap" American gas is comparable to the most expensive gas in modern history of Russia. Of course, there's purchasing power parity and other factors, that's why I said "in absolute-numbers-sense".

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Aurornis a day ago | parent [-]

> and you'd think, well, how expensive the gas then? And it's about $4 per gallon. So, just like I said - the "cheap" American gas is comparable to the most expensive gas in modern history of Russia.

You have completely missed the point. The gas is cheap due to the government forcing it to be.

If the prices were set by the free market, it would not be $4 per gallon with shortages causing lines to stretch 10 hours long.

Russia also has 1/3 the median household income of the US. So in parity adjusted dollars they’re paying something closer to 3X as much as you for gas. Not the same amount.

	▲	iLemming a day ago \| parent [-]
		Yes, that's why I mentioned all that - the parity and it not being the same amount. But I stand corrected - my initial claim of "US gas is not cheap" was incorrect. I just needed to look up "How US gas prices compare to the global average" and the answer is "significantly cheaper". I apologize for wasting your time. I got distracted by what's going on in Russia in the context of gasoline pricing.