Washington

Washington is a semi-autonomous Free State within the New United States of America, and part of the association of the Western Corporate States.

1990s - 2020s
The state has suffered a lot over the last few decades. Seattle is known as one of the top ten worst cities by 2010, caused by a series of ecological disasters, and compounded by inept governing.

The problems started in 1994, when decreased defense spending, poor management, and unresponsive engineering practices led to Boeing losing its share of the space program and military contracts. 1996 saw a massive drought strike the state. An oil spill contaminated the entirety of Puget Sound and killed off that year's salmon runs. It was 1997 by the time the spill had been effectively cleaned up.

By this time, the Collapse began, and the Washington state government needed funds. They raised corporate income taxes and imposed a state income tax for individuals; but corporations moved to Alaska to avoid higher taxes. Everything changed, however, when Seattle was rebuilt as the major West Coast port, bringing Washington back into the limelight. The Port of Seattle Floating Annex is an immense floating dry-dock and shipping warehouse facility covering the southern end of Puget Sound.

In 2002 it became a parliamentary state within the USA.

Known settlements

 * Hanford (ghost town as of 2020)
 * Olympia
 * Seattle
 * Spokane (ghost town as of 2020)
 * Tacoma

Other

 * Cascade Mountains
 * Columbia River
 * Ho Rain Forest
 * Puget Sound