A society makes all kinds of laws and statutes to 'encourage' the direction of change. The sin-taxes fare the worst, as cheating on those is OK by the folk-consensus.
Using gas taxes to repair infrastructure, subsidize other services to all -- makes just as much sense as making evryone buy a tenth of a nuke. And in those countries mentioned: if the populace didn't Like It - they could change it.
Here - we'd rather have our juvenile car-fetish subsidized by all - rather than vice versa. And it shows.
Ashton