Everyone knows gas is expensive. Just driving to McDonalds for a milkshake and some fries isn’t a bargain anymore; but, Americans love their cars and will keep driving no matter what.

So what do we do? We look for someone to blame, to point our fingers at, and to curse at while we grudgingly fork-over $50 for a weekly (or daily, as the case may be) fill-up.  But like most things, appearances can be deceiving.

While most Americans jump on the “price-gouging” bandwagon, accusing gas stations and refineries of taking advantage of the consumer during tough times, the federal government is really the one gouging us at the pump.

Jonathan Williams of the Tax Foundation released a revealing study last week on the local, state and Federal gas taxes that too often go unnoticed by the unsuspecting consumer.

Consider this:

According to data on gasoline use from the U.S. Department of Transportation, that amounts to an annual gas tax burden of roughly $271 for every man, woman and child in the United States. In these times of concern over high gas prices, American consumers should remember that gasoline taxes have a significant impact on the amount they spend at the pump.

As they say, a picture’s worth a thousand words:

Maybe instead of “fixing” the so-called “price-gouging” problem, the government should “fix” the overbearing tax burden. 

It’s just not right that we have to forgo our fries for a fill-up.