The State of Schirreve is a gargantuan, environmentally stunning nation, ruled by the Governor with an iron fist, and notable for its state-planned economy, punitive income tax rates, and stringent health and safety legislation. The hard-nosed, cynical population of 19.319 billion Schirreveans are ruled without fear or favor by a psychotic dictator, who outlaws just about everything and refers to the populace as "my little playthings."

The government — a sprawling, bureaucracy-choked, moralistic, socially-minded, well-organized morass — juggles the competing demands of Law & Order, Industry, and Education. It meets to discuss matters of state in the capital city of Columbia Heights. The average income tax rate is 74.1%, and even higher for the wealthy.

The large but sluggish Schirrevean economy, worth 406 trillion betales 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 Automobile Manufacturing industry, with major contributions from Woodchip Exports, Furniture Restoration, and Gambling. Average income is 21,033 betales, and distributed extremely evenly, with practically no difference between the richest and poorest citizens.

Punitive tariffs protect local industry, Schirreve has designated Columbia Heights as its capital city, The Governor has just been declared ruler of Schirreve in an international press conference, and the government's official stance on religion is that it is so very silly. Crime is totally unknown, thanks to the all-pervasive police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. Schirreve's national animal is the deer, which frolics freely in the nation's many lush forests.

Schirreve is ranked 111,474^th in the world and 294^th in United States of America for Most Cheerful Citizens, with 50 Percentage Of Water Glasses Perceived Half-Full.