In a Jan. 19 letter, Matthew Pasalic saysPrince George's County should follow Montgomery's lead on the bag tax, and I don't agree. Every time I go into a grocery store the prices have gone up and this has been going on for quite awhile. My husband and I shop at four food stores in order to hold down costs. The last thing we need is to be charged for plastic bags. Mr. Pasalic says a case of plastic bags cost the store about $30. Not to worry, the cost is passed on to the customer.

Plastic grocery bags are not the only contributors to litter and a bag tax won't end this problem. On the streets of Laurel and along the highways I see more aluminum soda and beer cans, Styrofoam and paper cups, fast food bags, plastic snack bags and candy wrappers. Fast food restaurants and convenience stores are generating more litter than grocery stores.

Maybe a 5-cent bag tax won't push anyone into poverty, but there are an awful lot of us out here living on the edge and it wouldn't take much to push us over the brink.

Virginia W. Staniak

Laurel