Greetings people of the Earth, the only other inhabited planet that I know of within 48.76 light-years. This webpage is dedicated to "A Small and Insignificant Planet", which is named as such for lack of a better name. It happens to be one of the least visited planets in the Milky Way Galaxy. Heh, go figure. And you thought your Earth was a podunk place out in the boonies. At least you have real mountains and actual weather. Also note that Earths population exceeds this planet's by about 5 billion + occupants. However, "A Small and Insignificant Planet" isn't a bad place to visit. It orbits a yellow dwarf star and it's year is about 2/3 that of Earths. Also the weather's great with an average temperature of 74 deg F. The highest recorded temperature being 104F at the equator and the lowest being 38F at the poles. It's not too windy either, but yes there is the occasional rain storm. There's not much in the way of violent weather, seasons, or seismic activity which leads to a rather laid back if not boring lifestyle for the inhabitants. Well, that's it for now.

The economics of A Small and Insignificant Planet:
So, now you're wondering - how are things run on that little planet you're telling us Earth people of. Ok, I'll tell ya. Basically there's not much in the way of resources as far as anything like petroleum or coal or nuclear power. The mineral mix of the planet is somewhat varied, but nothing in particular is really isolated. So, for the most part anything doing with power is solar, hydroelectric, or geothermal. Being that the planet is fairly small (about 3/5 earth size) and sparsely populated it leads to an open barter type economy. More or less, it's a large middle class with few rich or poor. Since nobody really has control of a resource and that demand is fairly low, it turns out that greed or conflict is low on this planet as well. Being a barter type economy isn't really all that bad either. You really don't need to take stuff with when bartering either. The occupants use a credit/debit type system that is universal. It fits on a transponder thats part of what you'd call a watchband here on earth. Watches on A Small and Insignificant Planet are readily available and are multifunctional much like the newer cell phones on earth. More or less, the market is driven by manufactured goods and services. Like I said earlier, resources play a very small role in the economy. Just about everyone has solar or wind, and perhaps a few collectives or corporations have hydroelectric or geothermal. Regardless energy is readily available and can be traded for services or goods. The planet has a form of internet as well, provided by sattelites. So we're all pretty much capable of getting in touch with each other.

The Government of A Small and Insignificant Planet:
The government of A Small and Insignificant Planet isn't really all that complicated (provided you're not involved in law) and is run mostly at the city level (there are few cities on this planet, most population centers are villages running at most 2000 inhabitants.) The main government is global and consists of 2 tiers. There is no president, as there is a council of 12. For each on the council, there are ten regional electorates. Electorates are in charge of a region on a grid, much like a province or a state. They are voted for every 3 years, and may only have 3 terms. Pay is modest, but they do have a salary for government service. Council members are chosen by the electorate every 6 years. The equivalent of states or provinces is a grid which is quite different from that of the Earth. As it follows lines of lattitude divided into 40 segments. Each is then divided longitudally for equal areas that are north, central, and south. So the main government is split geographically regardless of occupant density. Interestingly enough, this makes for a very "Green" biased government. So the environment of this planet is well cared for. Interestingly enough, there are even electorates that are in charge of nothing but ocean. But there is an actual floating city there and an undersea mining operation. Nothing quite like that on earth yet. So overall, you could say that A Small and Insignificant Planet is run by a united republic. The official name is the Dictate Council, or the Big DC as the people call it.
By the way another funny thing is how the state/province equivalents are named. Offically they're given a number 1-40 with a N,C, or S for North, Central, or South respectively. Unofficially, they may be named the same as the current electorate. So after an election you may be living in Belanchia instead of Attarona - but still reside in 36N. City names stay the same regardless, much like Earth they are named after founders, regional traits, etc. Weird, isn't it?

Other stuff regarding A Small and Insignificant Planet:
This may seem unusual to you, this planet has five dominant species instead of one. Which may take some time to get used to for an offworlder. There are humans, believe it or not, which actually came from Earth during a temporal event in your future. There are Angelians (pronounced an-geel-yans) which are a birdlike species that resemble hominids - the beak being covered by skin much like a humans teeth. There are the Jaruquon, an insectoid species. The reptilian Sirians, which traveled from the Sirius system. Chatenkva, which are mollusklike beings (need special watersuit to go on land, as they are aquatic.) And another mamalian species which are called the Dogo (doh-go).