The Most Serene Republic of St Michelle is a very large, genial nation, notable for its punitive income tax rates, devotion to social welfare, and stringent health and safety legislation. The compassionate, democratic, devout population of 150 million Michelleans 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 enormous, socially-minded, outspoken government juggles the competing demands of Spirituality, Welfare, and Education. The average income tax rate is 71.7%, and even higher for the wealthy.

The sizeable but stagnant Michelloise economy, worth 2.10 trillion Cerois a year, is driven entirely by a combination of government and state-owned industry, with private enterprise illegal. The industrial sector, which is quite specialized, is led by the Book Publishing industry, with major contributions from Uranium Mining, Furniture Restoration, and Woodchip Exports. Average income is 13,980 Cerois, and distributed extremely evenly, with practically no difference between the richest and poorest citizens.

Treason is relative, college students make ends meet by selling their kidneys, all major public areas are watched by police surveillance cameras, and scientists regularly clone human beings for research purposes. Crime is totally unknown, thanks to a well-funded police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. St Michelle's national animal is the Manta Ray, which frolics freely in the nation's sparkling oceans.

St Michelle is ranked 211,571^st in the world and 191^st in Karma for Most Subsidized Industry, scoring 280.7 on the Gilded Widget Scale.