The Empire of Gollumidas and Nation States

Sometimes I check out the country I created on Nation States. (http://www.nationstates.net/) Unlike a total RPG game with a lot more control over variables, this site allows you to create a nation and daily or weekly you make decisions on the policies that affect it. The decisions are implemented in 24 hours. This is the state of my nation today:


Location: Axen
The Empire of Gollumidas is a very large, safe nation, renowned for its burgeoning crystal bat population. Its compassionate population of 146 million have some civil rights, but not too many, enjoy the freedom to spend their money however they like, to a point, and take part in free and open elections, although not too often.

It is difficult to tell where the omnipresent government stops and the rest of society begins, but it juggles the competing demands of Education, Healthcare, and Social Welfare. The average income tax rate is 47%, but much higher for the wealthy. A robust private sector is led by the Book Publishing, Woodchip Exports, and Arms Manufacturing industries.

Truth is often impossible to tell from fiction on the evening news, drunk drivers are sentenced to death, the wearing and manufacture of fur apparel is banned, and teenagers across the country are celebrating the defeat of a national curfew bill. Crime is totally unknown, thanks to the all-pervasive police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. Gollumidas's national animal is the crystal bat and its currency is the crys.

Gollumidas is ranked 1st in the region and 34,235th in the world for Most Rebellious Youth.


'Axen' is the region, which I created since the region where my country was located originally, the West Pacific, was not allowing us to grow very well. Too much competition. Right now it is just us. Perhaps we will let others in. I made a decision this morning to allow refugees into the Empire. It was either allow them to come, shut them out or allow them to come, take on the unwanted jobs such as trash pick-up and pay them slave wages. Admittedly the questions posed mirror real world issues that companies must grapple with. We haven't joined the UN yet and there is one country we are considering annexing for no other reason than I worked with the person who created it and he seems to have neglected it...
You have choices when you create your nation as to how you would like to govern it-dictatorship, communist state and so forth. I tried to be a monarchy but the only monarchy choice was a constitutional monarchy, which I did not want. I have often considered what Queen Elizabeth and the United Kingdom would be like if she had real legislative power.


I really like the fact that drunk drivers are sentenced to death even though when I voted for the measure, it was that they should face punishment. Apparently I am meaner than I thought. The "news" decision was unsatisfying because I had to choose between freedom of speech and state controlled news.

Here is the link to the Empire in case you want to keep tabs:
http://www.nationstates.net/cgi-bin/index.cgi/target=display_nation/nation=gollumidas

I know that there are more involved ones out there but I like this "no muss no fuss" site.