Cheap Gasoline

Ryan Avent offers a chart of "petrol" prices in the developed world:

At a time when the economy needs more stimulus, I would not favor increasing the gas tax. But a time will come when deficit reduction is important, and reducing the deficit through higher gasoline taxes is a very economically solid policy. In the real world, the press has decided that 2011 would be a good year for a giant deficit freakout, and it's insane that higher gas taxes aren't on the policy agenda as an option.