The Free Land of Talca is a fledgling, pleasant nation, remarkable for its compulsory military service. The hard-nosed, hard-working, democratic population of 5 million Talcans are free to succeed or fail in life on their own merits; the successful tend to enjoy an opulent (but moralistic) lifestyle, while the failures can be seen crowding out most jails.
The relatively small, pro-business government juggles the competing demands of Defense, Spirituality, and Law & Order. Citizens pay a flat income tax of 8.3%.
The strong Talcan economy, worth 309 billion Talcas a year, is broadly diversified and led by the Cheese Exports industry, with major contributions from Beef-Based Agriculture, Door-to-door Insurance Sales, and Pizza Delivery. Average income is 61,835 Talcas, but there is a significant disparity between incomes, with the richest 10% of citizens earning 188,895 per year while the poor average 15,689, a ratio of 12.0 to 1.
Crime is moderate, with the police force struggling against a lack of funding and a high mortality rate. Talca's national animal is the Lion.