• Crowdworks Library : A library of papers dealing with Prediction markets, divided by subject. Get all our prediction markets information right here!

• Bitcoin : Bitcoin, a P2P electronic cash system. Except this system is not affected by the fluctuations of central banks and currencies.

• Kiva : This is, of course, not new, but it is a website that should have been in our Resources section long ago. For those who don’t know, it is a peer-to-peer lending system which gives micro-financing loans to people in developing countries. We’ve used it several times.

• MyGenGo : A great way to use crowdsourcing for your translation needs. Starting as low as five cents a word.

• Casting Words : For your Transcription needs. All jobs are sent to Amazon Mechanical Turk, where a real person will work on it.

• KickStarter : A form of ‘Crowdfunding’ for your projects. Concentrated mainly on artist and creative projects (in other words it will not work to fund your new business idea).

• Trada : Outsourcing your Search Marketing needs to independent agents. This is ideal for small businesses who can’t afford the in-house online marketers.

• GetSatisfaction : A great way to use crowds for customer service purposes. Are you receiving too many questions regarding your product/service each day? Try letting other customers answer the questions. Of course, be aware that they may not always be fiercely loyal customers, but it still lift a weight off your shoulders.

• Maven Research : “Everyone is an expert in something”. This is what Maven Research’s website states, and it offers a marketplace to find an expert, or to sell your expertise. Rates can be quite steep, but then again you get what you pay for.

• Gerson Lehrman Group : This offers the same services as Maven Research. There were rumors last year that this company had gone bankrupt, but it seems to be alive and running for the moment, and possibly cheaper than Maven.

• Fflick : If you have a twitter account you can connect it directly and you’ll already have a Fflick account. This will then analyze what all your friends are saying about movies and rate all the movies based on their recommendations. Think Metacritic powered by all your friends.

• Fiverr : Do you need a new logo? A jingle? Someone to shout your company name in the local mall? Find out what else people are willing to do for $5 at Fiverr.

Also, you will notice our Resources page has book recommendations pertaining to Free Markets, Privatization, as well as The History of Economics, and notice the nifty carousel format too!

What will not surprise anyone is that the second most talked about issue is the economy. Below is just a quick overview of the 3 main parties’ stances on the UK economy.

Tories

The conservative party have declared they will cut spending in all areas except for health and foreign aid. They are emphasising the current waste in government spending due to quangos and misplaced priorities (building facilities and manager bonuses rather than front-line duties) to highlight possible areas to cut. They would also return the Bank of England to be the main supervisor of banking activity (rather than the 3-office system currently in place).

In terms of taxation – one of their biggest rallying points – they pledge to scrap a 1% national insurance rise for people earning less than £35’000.

David Cameron very strongly drove this message home in the first debate, positioning the Tories to cut spending and support businesses and private employment.

Labour

The labour party has been in power for 13 years, overseeing a great boom and then the great bust. They argue that their actions – including a VAT cut and fiscal stimulus – have helped dampen the effects of the recession and want to continue with those spending programmes which they claim have helped maintain stability. They want to increase spending on the National Health Service and Education, but make freezes or cuts elsewhere. Banks would continue to be overseen by the Financial Services Authority, who would be given more powers.

Their tax plans include a 50pc tax rate on earnings of £150’000 and above;  a freeze on inheritance tax thresholds, and a 1% increase in national insurance contributions.

Liberal Democrats

The LibDems supported Labour’s stimulus plans and bailouts. Their manifesto however wants to be the most open and honest on the figures. They have pledged to cut £15billion in public spending while not affecting front line services, although they warn that times will be difficult for the next few years.

They want to raise the income tax threshold; align capital gains tax with income tax, and introduce a mansion tax on properties worth £2million or more. They also pledge to pay young interns £55 a week for 3 months after their internships expire.

Nick Clegg’s stance at the debates could not have been clearer: the two “old” parties will only bring more of the same, and the LibDems are the only ones being honest about the figures while proposing concrete solutions.

I know where I stand personally on these issues, but I wanted to present the issues above as neutrally as I could. Hopefully I have succeeded, but let’s go ahead and remove the velvet gloves: where do you stand on the 3 parties’ proposals? Who do you think has the best plan for the UK, economically speaking?