The People's Republic of Balush is a very large, safe nation, notable for its museums and concert halls, ubiquitous missile silos, and sprawling nuclear power plants. The compassionate, democratic population of 298 million Balushians 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 Education, Administration, and Welfare. It meets to discuss matters of state in the capital city of Trash Island. The average income tax rate is 80.8%, and even higher for the wealthy.

The strong Balushian economy, worth 21.6 trillion bills a year, is driven entirely by a combination of government and state-owned industry, with private enterprise illegal. The industrial sector is dominated by the Information Technology industry, with significant contributions from Basket Weaving, Beef-Based Agriculture, and Tourism. Average income is 72,399 bills, and distributed extremely evenly, with little difference between the richest and poorest citizens.

Thieves claim they're simply working for the tax agency, unemployed accountants keep double-entry ledgers of their benefit claims, children's TV shows are having a gay old time, and consumption of cat memes has skyrocketed. Crime, especially youth-related, is totally unknown, thanks to a well-funded police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. Balush's national animal is the Pallas's cat, which frolics freely in the nation's many lush forests.

Balush is ranked 128,169^th in the world and 241^st in Starlight for Largest Insurance Industry, scoring 1,554.47 on the Risk Expulsion Effectiveness Rating.