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On last Sunday's Perspectives page, it was amusing to read David M. Shribman's column "Burning Down the House." He details how the Republicans and Democrats are not just attacking one another but also finding fault with some of their own. This cannot lead to good governance.

The current argument is over "earmarks" -- whether to keep them or ban them altogether. The public would approve this effort to stamp out "bring home the bacon."

From an article in the Post-Gazette on Nov. 20, "the $16 billion spent on earmarks last year is undeniably real money, but it amounts to just half of 1 percent of the $3.5 trillion federal budget" ("Ban on Earmarks Mostly Symbolic, Some Officials Say," Nov. 20). This is not a valid argument for continuing earmarks. If you were to ask the common citizen what to do, he or she would say, eliminate them.

Adding that $16 billion is not chump change. Our lawmakers would thereby earn the admiration of the citizenry.

CORNELIA SMOLLIN
Whitehall

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