The garment industry of Bangladesh has been the key export division and a main source of foreign exchange for the last 25 years. At present, the country generates about billion worth of products each year by exporting garment. The industry provides employment to about 3 million workers of whom 90% are women. Two non-market elements have performed a vital function in confirming the garment industry’s continual success; these elements are (a) quotas under Multi- Fibre Arrangement1 (MFA) in the North American market and (b) special market entry to European markets. The whole procedure is strongly related with the trend of relocation of production.

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Displacement of Production in the Garment Industry

The global economy is now controlled by the transfer of production where firms of developed countries swing their attention to developing countries. The new representation is centred on a core-periphery system of production, with a comparatively small centre of permanent employees dealing with finance, research and development, technological institution and modernisation and a periphery containing dependent elements of production procedure. Reducing costs and increasing output are the main causes for this disposition. They have discovered that the simplest way to undercharge is to move production to a country where labour charge and production costs are lower. Since developing nations provide areas that do not impose costs like environmental degeneration, this practice protects the developed countries against the issues of environment and law. The transfer of production to Third World has helped the expansion of economy of these nations and also speed up the economy of the developed nations.

Garment industry is controlled by the transfer of production. The globalisation of garment production started earlier and has expanded more than that of any other factory. The companies have transferred their blue-collar production activities from high-wage areas to low-cost manufacturing regions in industrialising countries. The enhancement of communication system and networking has played a key role in this development. Export-oriented manufacturing has brought some good returns to the industrialising nations of Asia and Latin America since the 1960s. The first relocation of garment manufacturing took place from North America and Western Europe to Japan in the 1950s and the early 1960s. But during 1965 and 1983, Japan changed its attention to more lucrative products like cars, stereos and computers and therefore, 400,000 workers were dismissed by Japanese textile and clothing industry. In impact, the second stock transfer of garment manufacturing was from Japan to the Asian Tigers – South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore in 1970s. But the tendency of transfer of manufacturing did not remain there. The rise in labour charge and activeness of trade unions were in proportion to the enhancement in economies of the Asian Tigers. The industry witnessed a third transfer of manufacturing from 1980s to 1990s; from the Asian Tigers to other developing countries – Philippines, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia and China in particular. The 1990s have been led by the final group of exporters including Bangladesh, Srilanka, Pakistan and Vietnam. But China was leader in the current of the relocation as in less than ten years (after 1980s) China emerged from nowhere to become the world’s major manufacturer and exporter of clothing.

Bangladesh Garment Sector and Global Chain

The cause of this transfer can be clarified by the salary structure in the garment industry, all over the world. Apparel labour charge per hour (wages and fringe benefits, US$) in USA is 10.12 but it is only 0.30 in Bangladesh. This difference accelerated the world apparel exports from billion in 1965, with developing nations making up just 14 percent of the total, to 9 billion in 1991, with developing nations contributing 59 percent. In 1991 the number of workers in the ready-made garment industry of Bangladesh was 582,000 and it grew up to 1,404,000 in 1998. In USA, however, 1991-figure showed 1,106.0 thousand workers in the apparel sector and in 1998 it turned down to 765. 8 thousand.

The presented information reveals that the tendency of low labour charges is the key reason for the transfer of garment manufacturing in Bangladesh. The practice initiated in late 1970s when the Asian Tiger nations were in quest of tactics to avoid the export quotas of Western countries. The garment units of Bangladesh are mainly relying on the ‘tiger’ nations for raw materials. Mediators in Asian Tiger nations build an intermediary between the textile units in their home countries, where the spinning and weaving go on, and the Bangladeshi units where the cloth is cut, sewn, ironed and packed into cartons for export. The same representatives of tiger nations discover the market for Bangladesh in several nations of the North. Large retail trading companies placed in the United States and Western Europe give most orders for Bangladeshi garment products. Companies like Marks and Spencers (UK) and C&A (the Netherlands) control capital funds, in proportion to which the capital of Bangladeshi owners is patience. Shirts manufactured in Bangladesh are sold in developed nations for five to ten times their imported price.

Collaboration of a native private garment industry, Desh Company, with a Korean company, Daewoo is an important instance of international garment chain that works as one of the grounds of the expansion of garment industry in Bangladesh. Daewoo Corporation of South Korea, as part of its global policies, took interest in Bangladesh when the Chairman, Kim Woo-Choong, offered an aspiring joint venture to the Government of Bangladesh, which included the growth and process of tyre, leather goods, and cement and garment factories. The Desh-Daewoo alliance was decisive in terms of getting into the global apparel markets at significant juncture, when import reforming was going on in this market following the signing of MFA in 1974. Daewoo, a South Korean leading exporter of garments, was in search of opportunities in nations, which had hardly used their quotas. Due to the quota restriction for Korea after MFA, the export of Daewoo became limited. Bangladesh as an LDC got the chance to export without any constraint and for this cause Daewoo was concerned with the use of Bangladesh for their market. The purpose behind this need was that Bangladesh would rely on Daewoo for importing raw materials and at the same time Daewoo would get the market in Bangladesh. When the Chairman of Daewoo displayed interest in Bangladesh, the country’s President put him in touch with chairman of Desh Company, an ex-civil servant who was seeking more entrepreneurial pursuits.

To fulfil this wish, Daewoo signed a collaboration contract with Desh Garment for five years. The contract also incorporated the fields of technical training, purchase of machinery and fabric, plant establishment and marketing in return for a specific marketing commission on all exports by Desh during the contract phase. Daewoo also imparted an exhaustive practical training of Desh employees in the working atmosphere of a multinational company. Daewoo keenly helped Desh in buying machinery and fabrics. Some technicians of Daewoo arrived Bangladesh to establish the plant for Desh. The end result of the association of Desh-Daewoo was important. In the first six years of its business, i.e. 1980/81-86/87, Desh export value increased at an annual average rate of 90%, reaching more than million in 1986/87.

It is claimed that the Desh-Daewoo alliance is a significant element for the growth and achievement of Bangladesh’s entire garment export industry. After getting linked with Daewoo’s brand names and marketing network, overseas buyers went on with buying garments from the corporation heedless of their origin. Out of the opening trainees most left Desh Company at several times to erect their own competing garment companies, worked as a way of moving knowledge all through the whole garment sector.

It is essential to identify the outcomes of the process of moving production from high pay to low pay nations for both developing and developed nations. It is a bare fact that most of the Third World nations are now on the way to industrialisation. In this procedure, workers are working under unfavourable working environment – minimal wages, unhealthy place of work, lack of security, no job guarantee, forced labour etc.

The route of globalisation is full of ups and downs for the developing nations. Relocations of comparatively mobile, blue-collar production from industrialized to developing nations, in some circumstances, can have troublesome effects on social life if – in the absence of efficient planning and talks between international organisations and the government and/or organisations of the host nation – the transferred action encourages urban-bound relocation and its span of stay is short. Another negative result is that the rise in employment and/or income is not expected to be satisfactorily large and extensive to lessen inequality. In connection with the negative results of relocation of manufacturing on employment in developed countries, we realize that in comparatively blue-collar industries, the growing imports from developing nations lead to unavoidable losses in employment. It is held that development of trade with the South was a significant reason of the disindustrialisation of employment in the North over past few decades.

After all employees who are constantly working under unfavourable circumstances have to bear the brunt. Work is under-control across the Bangladesh garment sector. Appalling working atmosphere has been brought to light in the Bangladesh garment industry.

A research reveals that 90 percent of the garment employees went through illness or disease during the month before the interviews. Headache, anaemia, fever, chest, stomach, eye and ear pain, cough and cold, diarrhoea, dysentery, urinary tract infection and reproductive health problems were more common diseases. The garment factories gave bonus of different diseases to the employees for working. With a view to finding out a link between these diseases and industrial threats, health status of employees has been examined before and after coming in the garment work. At the end of examination, it was come out that about 75 percent of the garment workforce had sound health before they entered the garment factory. The reasons of health declines were industrial threats, unfavourable working environment, and want of staff facilities, inflexible terms and conditions of garment employment, workplace pressure, and low wages. Different work-related threats and their influence on health forced employees to leave the job after few months of joining the factory; the average length of service was only 4 years.

The garment sector is disreputable for fires, which are said to have claimed over 200 lives in the past two years, though exact figures are tough to find. A shocking instance of absence of workplace safety was the fire in November 2000, in which almost 50 workers lost their lives in Narsingdi as exist doors were closed.

From the above analysis of working atmosphere of garment sector, we can state that the working environment of most of the Third World nations, particularly Bangladesh remind us of earlier development of garment industries in the First World nations. The state of employment in many (not necessarily) textiles and clothing units in the developing nations take us back to those set up in the nineteenth century in Europe and North America. The mistreatment of garment employees in the birth period of the development of US garment factories reviewed above is more or less same as it seen now in the Bangladesh garment industry. Can we state that garment employees of the Third World nations living in the 21st century? Is it a return of the Sweatshop?

In a way, the Western companies are guilty of pitiable working atmosphere in the garment sector. The developed nations want to make more profit and therefore, force the developing nations to cut down the manufacturing cost. In order to survive in the competition, most of the developing nations select immoral practices. By introducing inflexible terms and conditions in the business, the global economy has left few alternatives for the developing nations.

Right Time to Make a Decision

There are two alternatives to tackle the challenge of the competitive world initiated by the continuous pressure of global garment chain. One can continue to exist in the competition by adopting time-honoured work systems or immoral practices. But it is uncertain how long they can continue to exist. In connection with the garment industry of Bangladesh, we can say that this is the right time to follow a competitive policy, which improves quality. If the MFA opportunities are eliminated, will it be feasible to keep the competitiveness through low-wage-female labour or through further drop in female wages? Possibly not. Since the labour charges are so minimal that with such wage, a worker is not able to maintain even a family of two members. Enhancing the efficiency of female workers is the only solution to increased competition. Proper education and thorough training can help achieve these positive results. To rule the global market, Bangladesh has to come out of low wage and low output complex in the garment industry. Bangladesh can enhance labour output through constant training, use of upgraded technology and better working environment. Bangladesh should plan a strategy intended for promoting skill development, speeding up technology transfer and improving productivity height of the workers.

Another method is to adopt best system or ethical course. Those companies, which react to heightened competition by stressing quality, speedy answer of the customers, fair practices for labourers should have the most innovative practices. We think that we are now living in the age of competition in producing improved quality over cost-reduction policy. The objective of change efforts at the workplace has been modified over the time – from making the job humane in the 1960s, to job satisfaction and output in 1970s, to quality and competitiveness in the 1980s. It is necessary for a company to pursue a competitive policy that improves quality, flexibility, innovation and customer care. If they rely on low costs by dropping labourers’ wages and other services, they will be bereaved of labourers’ dedication to work.

Strength

. Considerable Qualified/keen to learn workforce available at low labour charges. The recommended minimum average wages (which include Travelling Allowance, House Rent, Medical Allowance, Maternity Benefit, Festival Bonus and Overtime Benefit) in the units within the Bangladesh Export Processing Zones (BEPZ) are given as below; on the other hand, outside the BEPZ the wages are about 40% lower:

. Energy at low price

. Easily accessible infrastructure like sea road, railroad, river and air communication

. Accessibility of fundamental infrastructure, which is about 3 decade old, mainly established by the Korean, Taiwanese and Hong Kong Chinese industrialists.

. FDI is legally permitted

. Moderately open Economy, particularly in the Export Promotion Zones

. GSP under EBA (Everything But Arms) for Least Developed Country applicable (Duty free to EU)

. Improved GSP advantages under Regional Cumulative

. Looking forward to Duty Free Excess to US, talks are on, and appear to be on hopeful track

. Investment assured under Foreign Private Investment (Promotion and Protection) Act, 1980 which secures all foreign investments in Bangladesh

. OPIC’s (Overseas Private Investment Corporation, USA) insurance and finance agendas operable

. Bangladesh is a member of Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA) under which protection and safety measures are available

. Adjudication service of the International Centre for the Settlement of Investment Dispute (ICSID) offered

. Excellent Tele-communications network of E-mail, Internet, Fax, ISD, NWD & Cellular services

. Weakness of currency against dollar and the condition will persist to help exporters

. Bank interest@ 7% for financing exports

. Convenience of duty free custom bonded w/house

. Readiness of new units to enhance systems and create infrastructure accordant with product growth and fast reactions to circumstances

Weakness

. Lack of marketing tactics

. The country is deficient in creativity

. Absence of easily on-hand middle management

. A small number of manufacturing methods

. Low acquiescence: there is an international pressure group to compel the local producers and the government to implement social acquiescence. The US GSP may be cancelled and purchasing from US & EU may decrease significantly

. M/c advancement is necessary. The machinery required to assess add on a garment or increase competence are missing in most industries.

. Lack of training organizations for industrial workers, supervisors and managers.

. Autocratic approach of nearly all the investors

. Fewer process units for textiles and garments

. Sluggish backward or forward blending procedure

. Incompetent ports, entry/exit complicated and loading/unloading takes much time

. Speed money culture

. Time-consuming custom clearance

. Unreliable dependability regarding Delivery/QA/Product knowledge

. Communication gap created by incomplete knowledge of English

. Subject to natural calamities

Opportunity

. EU is willing to establish industry in a big way as an option to china particularly for knits, including sweaters

. Bangladesh is included in the Least Developed Countries with which US is committed to enhance export trade

. Sweaters are very economical even with china and is the prospect for Bangladesh

. If skilled technicians are available to instruct, prearranged garment is an option because labour and energy cost are inexpensive.

. Foundation garments for Ladies for the FDI promise is significant because both, the technicians and highly developed machinery are essential for better competence and output

. Japan to be observed, as conventionally they purchase handloom textiles, home furniture and garments. This section can be encouraged and expanded with continued progress in quality

Threat

. The exporters have to prepare themselves to harvest the advantages offered by the opportunities.

Overview of Bangladesh Garment Industry

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Accounting vs. Accountancy

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Body of knowledge (consisting of principles, postulates, assumptions, conventions, concepts and rules) governing the science of recording classifying and analyzing financial transactions is accounting. Whereas the practice and art of the science of accounting is termed as accountancy.To meet the ever increasing demands made on accounting by different interested parties (such as owners, management, creditors, taxation authorities etc.) the various branches have come into existence. Financial AccountingThe object of financial accounting is to ascertain the result (profit or loss) of business operations during the particular period and to state the financial position (Balance Sheet) as on a date at the end of the period.

Cost Accounting

The object of cost accounting is to find out the cost of goods produced or services rendered by a business. It also helps the business in controlling the costs by indicating avoidable losses and wastes.Management AccountingThe object of management accounting is to supply relevant information at appropriate time to the management to enable it to take decision and effect control.In this web primer, we are concerned only with financial accounting. The objects of financial accounting as stated above can be achieved only by recording the financial transactions in a systematic manner according to a set of principles. The recorded information has to be classified, analyzed and presented in a manner in which business results and financial position can be ascertained.

Uses of Accounting

Accounting plays important and useful role by developing the information for providing answers to many questions faced by the users of accounting information.

(1) How good or bad is the financial condition of the business?

(2) Has the business activity resulted in a profit or loss?

(3) How well the different departments of the business have performed in the past?

(4) Which activities or products have been profitable?

(5) Out of the existing products which should be discontinued and the production of which commodities should be increased.

(6) Whether to buy a component from the market or to manufacture the same?

(7) Whether the cost of production is reasonable or excessive?

(8) What has been the impact of existing policies on the profitability of the business?

(9) What are the likely results of new policy decisions on future earning capacity of the business?

(10) In the light of past performance of the business how it should plan for future to ensure desired results ?

Above mentioned are few examples of the types of questions faced by the users of accounting information. These can be satisfactorily answered with the help of suitable and necessary information provided by accounting.

Besides, accounting is also useful in the following respects :-

(1) Increased volume of business results in large number of transactions and no businessman can remember everything. Accounting records obviate the necessity of remembering various transactions.

(2) Accounting record, prepared on the basis of uniform practices, will enable a business to compare results of one period with another period.

(3) Taxation authorities (both income tax and sales tax) are likely to believe the facts contained in the set of accounting books if maintained according to generally accepted accounting principles.

(4) Cocooning records, backed up by proper and authenticated vouchers are good evidence in a court of law.

(5) If a business is to be sold as a going concern then the values of different assets as shown by the balance sheet helps in bargaining proper price for the business.

Limitations of Financial Accounting

Advantages of accounting discussed in this section do not suggest that accounting is free from limitations.

Following are the limitations:

Financial accounting permits alternative treatmentsAccounting is based on concepts and it follows ” generally accepted principles” but there exist more than one principle for the treatment of any one item. This permits alternative treatments with in the framework of generally accepted principles. For example, the closing stock of a business may be valued by anyone of the following methods: FIFO (First-in- First-out), LIFO (Last-in-First-out), Average Price, Standard Price etc., but the results are not comparable.

Financial accounting does not provide timely information

It is not a limitation when high powered software application like HiTech Financial Accenting are used to keep online and concurrent accounts where the balance sheet is made available almost instantaneously. However, manual accounting does have this shortcoming.

Financial accounting is designed to supply information in the form of statements (Balance Sheet and Profit and Loss Account) for a period normally one year. So the information is, at best, of historical interest and only ‘post-mortem’ analysis of the past can be conducted. The business requires timely information at frequent intervals to enable the management to plan and take corrective action. For example, if a business has budgeted that during the current year sales should be $ 12,00,000 then it requires information whether the sales in the first month of the year amounted to $ 10,00,000 or less or more?

Traditionally, financial accounting is not supposed to supply information at shorter interval less than one year. With the advent of computerized accounting now a software like HiTech Financial Accounting displays monthly profit and loss account and balance sheet to overcome this limitation. Financial accounting is influenced by personal judgments’Convention of objectivity’ is respected in accounting but to record certain events estimates have to be made which requires personal judgment. It is very difficult to expect accuracy in future estimates and objectivity suffers. For example, in order to determine the amount of depreciation to be charged every year for the use of fixed asset it is required estimation and the income disclosed by accounting is not authoritative but ‘approximation’.

Financial accounting ignores important non-monetary information

Financial accounting does not consider those transactions of non- monetary in nature. For example, extent of competition faced by the business, technical innovations possessed by the business, loyalty and efficiency of the employees; changes in the value of money etc. are the important matters in which management of the business is highly interested but accounting is not tailored to take note of such matters. Thus any user of financial information is, naturally, deprived of vital information which is of non-monetary character. In modern times a good accounting software with MIS and CRM can be most useful to overcome this limitation partially.

Financial Accounting does not provide detailed analysis

The information supplied by the financial accounting is in reality aggregates of the financial transactions during the course of the year. Of course, it enables to study the overall results of the business the information is required regarding the cost, revenue and profit of each product but financial accounting does not provide such detailed information product- wise. For example, if business has earned a total profit of say, $ 5,00,000 during the accounting year and it sells three products namely petrol. diesel and mobile oil and wants to know profit earned by each product Financial accounting is not likely to help him unless he uses a computerized accounting system capable of handling such complex queries. Many reports in a computer accounting software like HiTech Financial Accounting which are explained with graphs and customized reports as per need of the business overcome this limitation.

Financial Accounting does not disclose the present value of the business

In financial accounting the position of the business as on a particular date is shown by a statement known as ‘Balance Sheet’. In Balance Sheet the assets are shown on the basis of “Continuing Entity Concept. Thus it is presumed that business has relatively longer life and will continue to exist indefinitely, hence the asset values are ‘going concern values.’ The ‘realized value’ of each asset if sold to-day can’t be known by studying the balance sheet.

Branches of Accounting, Uses of Accounting and Limitations of Financial Accounting

The author is an engineering graduate, B.E.(Hons), and is managing his own software development firm, HiTech Computer Services, that mainly deals in accounting, billing and inventory control software for traders, industries, business houses, hotels, hospitals, medical stores, newspapers, magazines, petrol pumps, automobile dealers, commodity brokers and other business segments, website and web application development for business. The software are available both for intranet and internet. These software are available for download from the website:

Evaluation version download is available at
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Copy of the article and full Financial Accounting Primer or Tutorial is available at
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With a credit card comes the interest payments. Unless you pay off the total amount of your credit card each month (and chances are you won’t) you will end up paying interest. This interest will mean that the cost of paying for items ends up being much more than they originally cost.

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It is easier to buy on impulse. When you have the ability to pay for something there and then on the spot means that you are more likely to pay for something on your credit card. This means you are more likely to get into debt buying things that would normally be either too expensive or a luxury.

If you are late with your payments then you will pick up charges, the average late charge is so imagine if you miss 3 payments by a day you will pick up in charges. Doesn’t matter if you owe 00 or you will pick up the full charge so always pay on time!

Annual fees are very common with credit cards which again can push up the cost of paying for items without you even realizing. There are some transaction fees that you will encounter when buying certain items but this varies from card to card.

Basically be very careful when you are applying for a credit card make sure you weigh up all sides of the argument for getting one.

The Disadvantages of a Credit Card

For more valuable debt relief and free financial planning advice try visiting Online Money Advice located at [http://www.onlinemoneyadvice.net] where you will quickly and easily find a wealth of information on debt consolidation [http://www.onlinemoneyadvice.net/debt_consolidation.html], credit repair and credit counseling advice [http://www.onlinemoneyadvice.net/credit_counseling.html] that will help you financially and give you peace of mind for the future.

The probate process in California begins with a legal request or petition that opens the estate and names a PR or personal representative who takes care of the deceased’s property. An official Notice for Creditors is published in newspaper and a notice of same is sent to all the involved parties. Creditors are then given a set amount of time to file their claims depending upon the estimated time published in the notice. The PR then clears all the debts and dues remained in the name of deceased person and distribute the remaining estate to his close relative. Finally, the petition for discharge is filed and the estate is closed.

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This is the normal process of probate in California. The process involves many smaller steps which had to taken care of during the whole legal process. In many cases when the property balance is more than speculated or has some tax liability to it then a tax consultant or a CPA is to be hired who estimates the overall pricing of the estate.

Below we show you how the legal procedure of Probate in California runs:

Probate – First Phase

- Original Will and Codicils are filed

- Legal Notice of Petition is published to the Administer Estate

- Notice of Petition is filed and published in the local newspaper

- Proof of Will and Codicils are filed for further enquiry

- A letter is issued to all interested parties.

Probate – Second Phase

- Application for Employer Identification Number

- Income tax return and other legal taxes are filed

- Opening estate bank account and arrange for tax returns

- A mail with legal notice is sent to debtors and claims are cleared

- Approval or refusal of claims are made

- Property is listed for sale

- A petition is filed for Confirmation of Property Sale

- Court hearings are made and any final federal taxes are cleared

Probate Third Phase

- Final petition is filed for distribution

- A notice is sent to heirs and beneficiaries

- Proof of mail is filed with court

- Final order of petition is filed

- Transfer of assets and properties is cleared

If in case there are any living spouse or relatives of the deceased the property is distributed in a legal way among them without giving benefit to a single person. The California state law has the rules according to which the reaming estate is distributed. The court has the final verdict on the sale or distribution of property. If a bid is overbid by any person during the hearing then the property is transferred to the highest bidder.

This is a simple explanation of probate process in California. We are only describing the legal process. It is advised to contact an attorney for proper legal procedure. You can find more detailed information in Sections 6400-6413 of the California Probate Code.

If you are in need of an attorney please feel free to e-mail me, I will send you a list of attorneys in Los Angeles.

The Probate Process in California – What to Expect!

Luis Pezzini
lpezzini@pezzini.info
http://probate.SunsetStripRealty.com
http://www.SunsetStripRealty.com

There are two components in an ecosystem, the abiotic components, such as sunlight, temperature, temperature, water or moisture and the soil chemistry, and the biotic, the living organisms from plants to insects, animals to people, all of which interact together.

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Ecology is a way of describing how the the various component parts of an ecosystem interact and function whether it is the amount of energy produced by photosynthesis or how energy and materials flow along the food chain.

Energy transfers in a continuous cycle from growth to decay and back throughout an ecosystem and the rate at which it does so depends on a number of factors. However, energy transfer through the food chain becomes more inefficient as it develops from what is called primary producer level (plants) through herbivore primary consumer level and on to carnivore level.

This is all fine when the various elements of an ecosystem are in balance and functioning well together but it doesn’t take much to destabilise it.

Climate changes, such as prolonged drought or rainfall, can affect the balance or a change in the animal population so that perhaps there are too many predators that can be supported in a given area.

Human activity has arguably one of the most significant impacts on an ecosystem in a variety of ways. Once an area of land is being used for a specific purpose, such as farming, it can lead to several problems.

Once populations begin to collect in communities and the economic system depends more and more on urbanised living, along with greater scientific understanding of public health and medicine, the death rate declines and the population begins to grow.

This puts more pressure on those working the land to produce food to become more efficient and again innovations like farming machinery – and eventually methods such as chemical and mineral-based pesticides and fertilisers have to be used to control pests and crop diseases and increase the yield from the land.

Meanwhile ever newer and more “efficient” farming methods create a hostile environment for wildlife, including pests and for their natural predators, perhaps because the areas where they live and shelter such as hedges have been removed to allow for larger farm vehicles to operate efficiently.

Equally too intensive farming means that there is no time for the land to recover and restore nutrients naturally through the cycle of growth and decay. The human population continues to grow as life expectancy and birth rates increase and add to the stress on the ecosystem.

It is the result of many centuries of such “improvements” in food production and in population survival and growth that has led to current worries about food scarcity and the need for farmers to increase food production.

But it has also become clear that increasing food production has to be done in a sustainable way as the drawbacks of previous farming methods have become evident, not only because of the effects of the residues of some of the old generation of fertilisers on human health but also because of the damage that has been caused to the ecosystems in which they have been used.

Hence the current emphasis on sustainable farming methods and integrated pest management but if the world is to support a population expected to reach more than 9 billion by 2050 without further damage to the world’s ecosystems something has to change.

Biopesticides developers have been in the forefront of the search for solutions, researching more natural (aka low-chem) agricultural products – using natural ingredients to create biopesticides and yield enhancers that will both protect the land and help increase yields from the finite amount of land available by minimising the waste caused by crops lost to diseases and predators.

It is the work of such innovators that will hold the key to providing enough food and protecting the land and its vulnerable ecosystems for the future.

Population Increase Affects Both Ecosystems and the Food Chain

Sustainable farming using more natural agricultural products like biopesticides can help protect the world’s ecosystems that have been put under enormous pressure over the centuries from population growth and the development of farming methods to meet the increased demand for food. By Ali Withers.

Debt consolidation uses one huge loan to pay off all your smaller loans, which can lower both your interest rate and your monthly payments.

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With this approach, you make one payment each month instead of sending several different payments at different times each month, like you do with your current debts. Instead of all these loans with their separate interest payments and lengths, you can end up with one loan from a single company. So, instead of having many smaller debts, you have one big debt.

Here are a few of the advantages of this approach:

• You’ll probably get a lower overall interest rate.
• You only have to make one payment each month instead of several payments to different companies.
• You only have to deal with one creditor if you run into some financial trouble.
• You’ll simplify your budget and reduce the number of cheques you have to write each month.

Here are a few of the disadvantages of this approach:

• You may end up paying more interest over time because the lower monthly payment will take longer to pay off. Saving money each month could end up paying more money over time.
• You could end up with a variable interest rate, which could rise over time. If this happens, your monthly payments will go up, and you may get less manageable payments in a few months or years.

Using credit cards to consolidate debt

Credit cards can actually be consolidated using other credit cards instead of a separate loan. Instead of having debt on several different cards, you can combine all your separate debts onto one card.

If you hear about a ‘balance transfer’, this is what the credit card companies will be talking about. Basically, you can take the balance from several different credit cards and transfer them to a single card. You probably get ‘balance transfer’ offers once in a while from competing credit card companies if you already have one or more cards.

Only having to make one credit card payment each month can streamline your budget. You’ll be able to check out just how much credit card debt you have more easily. Plus, if you do this right, you’ll also get a better interest rate.

If you’re considering a balance transfer, be sure to know what you’re getting by reading the small print. Usually these offers will come with a very low introductory interest rate, which is probably a lot lower than what you’re paying on cards you’ve had for a while. Usually this interest rate will only hold for a certain number of months, and after that, the credit card company can raise the rate as much as they please.

If you can pay off the balances that you transfer before the rates go up, then a balance transfer is a great way to consolidate your credit card debt. However, don’t keep switching the debt around. Most banks will penalize you for this, and it can also harm your credit rating.

How Debt Consolidation Works

Nicola Ray is the editor of Budgeting-Steps.com, a website dedicated to personal budgeting. You’ll find lots of help and advice on debt consolidation [http://www.budgeting-steps.com/what-is-debt-consolidation.html] and other debt related issues.

Who should apply? Anyone who is on Social Security or disability that likes the idea of having a debit card for their transactions instead of cashing their monthly check and using cash or having to write checks from their bank account. The Direct Express Debit card is accepted anywhere a MasterCard is accepted and can also be used to get cash from ATM machines, retail stores and banks.

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What if the Direct Express card is lost or stolen? This debit card is like any other debit card and you will have a personal pin number that protects you if it is. You can call immediately to report this and your debit card will be replaced. It is also protected and insured by the FDIC.

Does the card cost anything? No, it is free with no monthly account fee and has free services like: optional notifications of deposits made to your card by phone, text or email, optional alerts when your balance falls below a certain level and a once a month, no charge ATM withdrawal at participating ATM machines. There is also a toll- free, 24 hour customer service number 7 days a week.

Are There Any Other Fees? For certain things like ATM withdrawals after the first free one cost only $0.90. Other fees include a bill pay fee of $0.50 each time you pay a bill, $0.75 for a monthly Direct Express card statement that is mailed to you monthly, to replace a lost or stolen card each year and .50 to replace it with overnight delivery, .50 to transfer funds to a US bank account and plus 3% of the transaction to withdraw funds from an international ATM machine.

How To Get the Direct Express Card There is a toll free number, 1-877-212-9991 or an online sign up site at- http://www.USDirectExpress.com. You can also call Social Security at-1-800-772-1213 from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday and a representative will help you. For the hearing impaired: 1-800-325-0778.

Social Security – Direct Express Debit Card Facts

Copyright by J Sevenup and may only be used if backlinked to Ezine articles.

First and foremost, if there is a mortgage lien on the home that hasn’t been satisfied, the balance will be deducted from the proceeds of the sale. This also includes any second or additional mortgages. The lender will compute the actual balance due through the date of the sale and provide this information to the title company in advance.

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Property taxes are also calculated through the date of sale and deducted from the proceeds. If there is an outstanding property tax bill, this too will be deducted from the seller’s portion of the proceeds at closing. The property taxes must be current in order for the sale to be finalized.

If the seller obtains the services of a professional real estate agent, the commission which was negotiated will be paid to the broker at the time of closing.

A title insurance policy must be purchased by the seller ensuring that the home is being transferred to the new home buyer with a clear title. The cost of title insurance is based on the sale price of the home.

In some localities, utilities must be paid through the date of closing. For example, the water company may come out to take a final meter reading just before closing and notify the title company of the final water bill due and owing. This bill will be deducted from any proceeds the seller may net at the time of closing.

The seller will also be charged a governmental transfer tax which will vary by municipality.

Another governmental charge will be the cost of releasing the mortgage, if any. This fee is usually fairly minimal.

If there is a judgment against the seller, it’s possible that any net proceeds from the sale of the home could be applied to said judgment. This would also include any mechanic’s lien that have been placed against the property.

Attorneys fees are also charged to the seller at closing, if these fees have not been paid in advance. At minimum, an attorney is required to prepare the Warranty Deed and Green Sheet to ensure proper transfer of the property.

An optional charge would be a home warranty offered to the home buyers. In most instances, this is paid for by the seller and is deducted from the proceeds. Offering this warranty may help sell a house faster.

It is in a seller’s best interest to speak to a professional like an experienced home buyer or Realtor to obtain a more precise estimate of charges for their particular region. This will allow the seller to compute the difference between the potential sale price of their home, and the expenses that will be incurred, to accurately review their bottom line. Bear in mind, if the expenses exceed the purchase price, the seller will be required to bring funds to the closing table to cover those expenses. Therefore, it is imperative that a seller be aware of the true costs associated with selling their home, whether they live in a larger city like Philadelphia or a smaller rural area in the Midwest.

Closing Costs – Fees and Expenses Associated With Selling Your Home

Joshua J. Weidman is a Philadelphia area real estate investor and consultant. He has successfully helped hundreds of homeowners sell their properties by creating profitable solutions for all parties involved in the transaction. If you are interested in more helpful information about selling your property or would like a free cash offer on your house, please visit Josh at http://www.webuyhomes2fix.com/Articles.php.

But, now you’re faced with some assets that you – as a sole proprietor – own that you’d like to transfer to the newly formed LLC. Just how do you do that?

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Two simple ways come to mind. The first is an outright sale. The second is a contribution of capital. We’ll tackle each here briefly.

Your new LLC is a separate legal entity. So, what you want to do is to change the titles of the assets you seek to transfer to reflect the name of your new LLC. If you choose to do this through a regular sale, you may find yourself subject to certain taxes, depending on the amount of depreciation left on the equipment itself.

Let’s look at the sale of your computer, for instance. You bought it several years ago for ,500. You’ve already taken all the depreciation that’s available for it. And you – in the capacity of your title of sole proprietor – will now sell it to the LLC for 0. The new company simply writes a check to you for the purchase. And all you need for proof of this is the bill of sale. Since you have no depreciation, you have a taxable gain of 0 from the sale of this piece of equipment. After all, you’ve just made 0.

If instead of outright selling it, you give the computer to the new company as a “capital contribution” you could avoid paying any taxes on this equipment. And it requires very little paperwork (which is always good). All you need to do is to make an adjusting entry in the financial books of the LLC. You may also want to add a memo or a resolution to the company articles recording the transaction. Be sure to indicate that the exchange was mutually agreed upon by the two businesses.

From here, the LLC uses what’s called a “carryover” basis for this piece of equipment. The LLC uses the same rate of depreciation that you’ve been using. If you’ve already written off the entire cost of the equipment, as in the example above, then the carryover rate is zero.

So since you bought the computer for ,500 and you’ve only taken a depreciation of 0, then the carryover rate of the LLC is ,000. The LLC is obligated to report this on the owner’s Schedule C of his/her tax returns (which by the way is you!). For the purpose of tax filings, nothing has really changed.

Now what do you do if you want to transfer an asset that you’re still making payments on, like a car? This may cause a few headaches – but it’s nothing that can’t be overcome. First, let’s consider that the car is already paid for.

In this case, you simply take the title to the appropriate office in your state and transfer the title from your name to that of the LLC. You may request the LLC to purchase it or you may decide to make it a “capital contribution” to the firm. (In either case, don’t forget that you also need to change the name on the car insurance policy as well.)

If you’re still making payments on the car, the lender may have a “due on transfer” clause attached to any potential sale. This means that as soon as you transfer ownership to the LLC, any remaining balance owned on the car becomes due to the original lender. In effect, somebody has to pay off the loan.

Many lending companies may allow you to waive this clause – especially in a case such as this. After all, you are going to pay either way – in the persona of the sole proprietor or as the owner of the LLC. Double check with the lender before you begin this process.

If a due on transfer is in effect, they may indeed waive it. If they do, make sure to get this in writing. (Don’t leave something as important as this to just a verbal agreement. The person in the lending institution may resign the day after he tells you this and you’d have no proof!)

It’s always best, though, before you make any transfers to speak not only to a qualified CPA who can guide you through the maze of your own state’s tax laws, but to an attorney as well. Take your time and make wise decisions, and the process of transferring assets will a smooth and easy one!

From Sole Proprietorship to LLC – Transferring Assets

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Do we spend more time dividing the recyclables every week than we do cooking healthy meals? Are we more invested in our green planet than we are in our flesh and blood bodies? Obviously, embracing ways to take care of Mother Earth must be a part of our lives, but it is for naught if we do not treat Father Time (in this case, our own longevity) with the same respect. Every day above ground that we LIVE STRONG and CHOOSE WISELY, we win the lottery: Another precious day, and another and another.

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How do we do this? Energy, and the transfer of energy, is not a theory. It is a tangible fact. In order to maintain the healthy give and take of energy within ourselves, we must be vigilant about our personal sustainability. We MUST not allow ourselves to take in more energy than we can use each day; quite simply, this overwhelms the “natural landscape” that is our vital organs. In this case, use it or lose it seems to be oxymoronic, since it becomes use it or gain it (in pounds), but the thing we lose is our health. We overtax our body with useless foods and stored pounds that exhaust us and leave us depleted and susceptible to deadly illness.

Remember, the absolute enemies of an otherwise sustainable life, are ego and stress. It is our attachment to things and situations that becomes emotional and physical stress. This is not a new concept, although many “new” teachers carry this message. Adopting and building ways to manage our worries and our fears is tantamount as we move through life. Life is here, and it can be unbearably difficult. We will lose jobs and friends, we will ache for success and unattained love, and we will sometimes struggle with situations and questions that will seem to take our very breath away. Finding a way to breathe and survive, if not strive, through these challenges is probably the most important stepping stone in our path of sustaining our lives. It is those among us who turn these challenges into opportunities, in fact, who become our greatest leaders.

Right this moment, as you read this article, breathe in the beauty that is life around you. Today is an opportunity to choose YOU first. Begin your efforts in your own body and your own home – inspire your family and then even your friends. Begin to make changes in your entire life that embrace personal sustainability, and your body will support you, heart and soul, for many years to come.

Finally, imagine the good you can do if you use those extra years to sustain our planet and her people – a win-win for every body.

Personal Sustainability

Laura Fenamore, CPCC, is a gifted Body Esteem and weight loss coach Laura is devoted to helping others find balance in their lives as well as celebrating their bodies and their health. Her vision is living in a world where health and body image are celebrated.

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