Will Work for Petrol

K, I can't keep mum about this issue any longer. It's been dragging too long and burning a hole in my pocket at the same time.

The point of contention here is ... petrol.

Be it 95, 98 or the ultra premium juice, it's getting too damn expensive!!! Yes, the whole world is feeling the pinch, with oil hitting US$70 a barrel. However, on this little dot that is Singapore, prices are way too steep since day one. While Malaysia and Indonesia are grappling with potential uprisings when they cut the domestic subsidies for fuels, we drivers here have been paying expensive petrol tax for as long as I can remember.

A few years back, an article in the Straits Times featured a breakdown of costs for a petrol station. The 2 items I remember vividly were the rental cost of the land the station is sitting on and the petrol tax. Can't remember the exact figure, but it was high, way too high.

One big reason why petrol costs $2 a litre is due to the exhorbitant petrol tax. I wish, without having Singaporeans write in to the forums, without having them approach their various MPs or without having us resort to online petitions, the relevant authorities would look into lowering the tax rate to lighten our loads. Not every driver on the road is driving a luxury car, on the way to a spa in a swanky club.

Of course, the recent typhoons and hurricanes being blamed for the current rise in prices is all BS to me. The last I checked, typhoons and hurricanes have been thrashing on Mother Earth since long ago, not in recent months. The ones happily laughing their way to the bank are probably the oil dealers, securing high future prices for oil, pushing it higher than it should naturally be, pocketing handsome commissions along the way.

For me, my monthly expenditure on petrol has gone up about 30%. There was a time when my car was a means to earning my keep. Now, I seem to be working to keep the car. Yes, petrol costs me more now because New Orleans (read N'Orleans) is submerged in water. Go figure.

Excuse me, for I have to go make ends meet now...


redcocoon