Take a guess at what was the top export of the United States was for 2011? For the first time in the history of the United States, the top export of the United States, the worlds largest and biggest gas guzzler, is, no wait, drum roll please, you are not going to believe this — fuel.

All this time we have been led to believe that the price of gasoline is high because of the lack of availability of crude oil and the refineries to process it. Boy have we been horn doggled. Now that being said “I have some really great land for sale in Florida.” Measured in dollars, the nation is on pace this year to ship more gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel than any other single export, according to U.S. Census data going back to 1990. It will also be the first year in more than 60 that America has been a net exporter of these fuels. A decade ago, fuel wasn't even among the top 25 exports. And for the last five years, America's top export was aircraft.

We were told whenever gasoline prices climbed that U.S. refiners were not growing quickly enough to satisfy domestic demand; now we know that was smoke an mirrors to pacify the American public, what a bunch of bull.

From January to October of 2010, the country imported 2.7 billion barrels of oil worth roughly $280 billion. We then turn around and exported $88 billion of refined fuel in 2011.

Oil prices averaged $95 a barrel in 2011, while gasoline averaged $3.52 a gallon — a record. A decade ago oil averaged $26 a barrel, while gasoline averaged $1.44 a gallon. The volume of fuel exports is rising. The U.S. is using less fuel because of a weak economy, government telling us to use less, and more efficient cars and trucks have become available. That allows refiners to sell more fuel to rapidly growing economies in Latin America, for example. In 2011, U.S. refiners exported 117 million gallons per day of gasoline, diesel, jet fuel and other petroleum products, up from 40 million gallons per day a decade earlier. Let make sure you read that right, “117 millions gallons of fuel per day.” Are you upset yet or is it just me.

Obviously, the domestic downside to America's growing role as a fuel exporter. Experts say this helps explain why U.S. motorists are paying more for gasoline. The more fuel that's sent overseas, the less of a supply cushion there is at home and we get to pay higher prices.

Gasoline supplies are being exported to the highest bidder, says Tom Kloza, chief oil analyst at Oil Price Information Service. "It's a world market," he says.

Refining companies won't say how much they make by selling fuel overseas. But analysts say those sales are likely generating higher profits per gallon than they would have generated in the U.S. Otherwise, they wouldn't occur. Meanwhile, the good old tax paying American is paying more and more everyday for a gallon of gasoline to go to work. For what? High corporate profits. Will the average American ever get a break?

The value of U.S. fuel exports has grown steadily over the past decade, coinciding with rising oil prices and increased demand around the globe. The United States is shipping more fuel to developing countries in Latin America and Asia. They are burning more gasoline and diesel as their people buy more cars and build more roads and factories. Europe also has been buying more U.S. fuel to make up for its lack of refineries.

And there's a simple reason why America's refiners have been eager to export to these markets: gasoline demand in the U.S. has been falling every year since 2007. It dropped by another 2.5 percent in 2011. With the economy struggling, motorists cut back. Also, cars and trucks have become more fuel-efficient and the government mandates the use of more corn-based ethanol fuel.

Dear American tax payer, we have been sold a bill of goods. We pay exuberant prices for our gasoline, while we are told to use less, buy electric cars, ride the bus, while big business sells are needed gasoline to the highest bidder on the world market. In the first ten months of 2011, the nation exported 848 million barrels (worth $73.4 billion) and imported 750 million barrels. This is an American travesty.