And it's important to note that all the ideas are straight bonuses. While they might not be as big of bonuses as tiered countries get, they also lack any really situational bonuses. All your ideas, excepting maybe -10% mercenary maintenance are always useful. And, because of how they're set up, you do get small improvements to pretty much everything. While that means you aren't as great as in any one area as a really specialized nation, you can be decently competent in any area. "Jack of all trades and master of none is still better than a master of one" as the old saying goes (people always forget the latter part). Finally, the capstone is an additional +10% national tax modifier, in addition to the earlier +5% for a plus 15% total. That's really decent. Not, perhaps, the greatest idea set ever, but not really bad either.
