I agree as well as disagree with Tom Plate's July 31 article, "Asians a boon to American prosperity." I agree that there are examples like Toyota, which, although it takes jobs away from Ford and General Motors, invests heavily in the United States, creating jobs and giving us products that in some ways surpass what we would otherwise be able to buy here.

I think U.S. designers need to be kicked in the pants to force them to build more efficient vehicles for the sake of the American economy and the environment. All that the big U.S. automakers have done is enable oil companies to earn the highest profits in history. They don't do any more for line workers than Toyota offers in its new plants in the U.S.

But not all Asian production helps the U.S. economy. For the first half of my life when I lived with my parents, there were various U.S.-made devices around the home that still work today. Now I go to Wal-Mart (I have no choice since other stores in town went out of business), and the only kitchen timers I find, for example, are made in China. Yes, they're cheap, but with the first turn of the dial, the plastic face breaks off. So the money is wasted, as the device ends up costing more than an expensive one that actually works. Same thing with an egg slicer: flimsy plastic, the alignment is not right, the wire hits the plastic guides, and within a week it breaks and the whole slicer unravels. Money wasted, not saved.

Many parts that used to be built well are now junk. We don't have the choice to buy good quality anymore. Money wasted, not saved. Then there is the rampant counterfeiting, pirating and odd ingredients used in pills and food products, as reported recently.

There are many mutually beneficial business arrangements with Asians, but just because a few rich American money-controllers want to make even more money in Asia doesn't mean that all of those arrangements are beneficial to people over here.

victor masliah