I was pointed to the online “game” of NationStates by Rik from Yehoodi.
It’s pretty neat. You create a country, and then shape its growth based upon your governing. I’m sure there’s a better way to explain it, but I’m trying to actually do some work at the same time as blogging today, so deal with it.
My nation is The Democratic Republic of Bubbleshorts.
_The Democratic Republic of Bubbleshorts is a tiny, socially progressive nation, remarkable for its absence of drug laws. Its hard-nosed, intelligent population of 5 million love a good election, and the government gives them plenty of them. Universities tend to be full of students debating the merits of various civil and political rights, while businesses are tightly regulated and the wealthy viewed with suspicion.
The government — a sprawling, bureaucracy-choked, socially-minded morass — juggles the competing demands of Healthcare, Social Welfare, and Education. The average income tax rate is 39%, but much higher for the wealthy. A small private sector is led by the Information Technology industry, followed by Arms Manufacturing and Gambling.
Voting is voluntary. Crime — especially youth-related — is relatively low. Bubbleshorts’s national animal is the mongoose, which frolics freely in the nation’s many lush forests, and its currency is the doodle.