According to information on the Daily Markets website, a gallon of gasoline manufactured and sold in the United States by Exxon Mobil in the last quarter of 2010 earned apx. two cents. They made less than 8 cents net on every dollar of revenue earned, not a hell of a lot considering the investment and risk.
The state of Arkansas removed 40.3 cents from your pocket for every gallon you bought there and the Obama federal bureaucracy made off with 18.4 of that. To earn that revenue government entities do not invest one single cent in production and distribution and that amount is in addition to the costs the various government departments charge to oversee and regulate.
Just be glad you're not buying it in California or New York. As you might expect, those states grab the most out their motorist's wallet at 47.7 + 18.4 fed = 66.1 cents in California, and 47.2 + 18.4 fed = 65.6 in New York.
