The United States of Flered is a huge, genial nation, notable for its daily referendums, punitive income tax rates, and stringent health and safety legislation. The compassionate, democratic population of 875 million Fleredians 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 Administration, Education, and Welfare. It meets to discuss matters of state in the capital city of Flered City. The average income tax rate is 74.4%, and even higher for the wealthy.

The sizeable but sluggish Fleredian economy, worth 33.8 trillion Orges a year, is led by the Information Technology industry, with major contributions from Tourism, Basket Weaving, and Book Publishing. State-owned companies are common. Average income is 38,667 Orges, and distributed extremely evenly, with practically no difference between the richest and poorest citizens.

The arms industry is strictly regulated, business owners return from long vacations to find their factories have been turned into homeless shelters, barbed wire entanglements and guard towers surround the Flered City Natural History Museum, and when their backs are against the walls Fleredians look out for gay men. Crime, especially youth-related, is totally unknown, thanks to a well-funded police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. Flered's national animal is the Atom, which frolics freely in the nation's many lush forests.

Flered is ranked 159,235^th in the world and 165^th in The League for Largest Publishing Industry, scoring 1,579.44 on the Bella Potter Productivity e-Index.