If gas taxes are high and consumption is low, as in Europe, fluctuations in the world price of oil have a smaller effect domestically. Subsidies to US oil producers have often been sold on national-security grounds; in fact, a policy to “drain America first” reduces self-sufficiency in the longer run.
此外还有国家安全原因。如果燃料零售价格很低，国内消费就会很高。高石油消费让一国很容易受到（比如因中东动荡引起的）石油市场波动的干扰。如果汽油税很高而消费很低（如欧洲），世界石油价格的波动所造成的国内影响就会较小。美国石油生产商的补贴常常打着国家安全旗号；事实上，“先耗尽美国”的政策从长期看降低了能源自给率。