Costs and Benefits of US Government Regulations

Do federal regulations – the often controversial rules enacted by federal agencies to implement and enforce the laws passed by Congress -- cost taxpayers more than they are worth? Answers to that question can be found in a first-ever draft report on the costs and benefits of federal regulations released in 2004 by the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB). Indeed, federal regulations often have more impact on the lives of Americans than the laws passed by Congress. Federal regulations far outnumber laws passed by Congress. For example, Congress passed 65 significant bills laws in 2013. By comparison, the federal regulatory agencies typically enact more than 3,500 regulations every year or about nine per day. The Costs of Federal Regulations The added expenses of complying with federal regulations born by business and industries have a significant impact on the U.S. economy. According to the U.S. Chambers of Commerce, complying with federal regulations costs U.S. businesses over $46 billion a year. Of course, businesses pass their costs of complying with federal regulations on to consumers. In 2012, the Chambers of Commerce estimated that the total cost for Americans to comply with federal regulations reached $1.806 trillion, or more than the gross domestic products of Canada or Mexico. At the same time, however, federal regulations have quantifiable benefits to the American people. That’s where the OMB’s analysis comes in. More detailed information helps consumers make intelligent choices on the products they purchase. By that same token, knowing more about the benefits and costs of federal regulations helps policymakers promote smarter regulations, said Dr. John D. Graham, director of the OMB’s Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs. Benefits Far Exceed Costs, Says OMB The OMB’s draft report estimated that major federal regulations provide benefits of from $135 billion to $218 billion annually while costing taxpayers between $38 billion and $44 billion. Federal regulations enforcing the EPAs clean air and water laws accounted for the majority of the regulatory benefits to the public estimated over the last decade. Clean water regulations accounted for benefits of up to $8 billion at a cost of $2.4 to $2.9 billion. Clean air regulations provided up to $163 billion in benefits  while costing taxpayers only about $21 billion. Costs and benefits of some other major federal regulatory programs included: Energy: Energy Efficiency and Renewable EnergyBenefits: $4.7 billionCosts: $2.4 billion Health Human Services: Food and Drug AdministrationBenefits: $2 to $4.5 billionCosts: $482 to $651 million Labor: Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)Benefits: $1.8 to $4.2 billionCosts: $1 billion National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NTSHA)Benefits: $4.3 to $7.6 billionCosts: $2.7 to $5.2 billion EPA: Clean Air RegulationsBenefits: $106 to $163 billionCosts: $18.3 to $20.9 billion EPA Clean Water RegulationsBenefits: $891 million to $8.1 billionCosts: $2.4 to $2.9 billion The draft report contains detailed cost and benefit figures on dozens of major federal regulatory programs, as well as the criteria used in making the estimates. OMB Recommends Agencies Consider Costs of Regulations Also in the report, OMB encouraged all federal regulatory agencies to improve their cost-benefit estimation techniques and to carefully consider costs and benefits to taxpayers when creating new rules and regulations. Specifically, OMB called on regulatory agencies to expand use of cost-effectiveness methods as well as benefit-cost methods in regulatory analysis; to report estimates using several discount rates in regulatory analysis; and to employ formal probability analysis of benefits and costs for rules based on uncertain science that will have more than a $1 billion-dollar impact on the economy. Agencies Must Prove Need for New Regulations The report also reminded regulatory agencies they must prove that a need exists for the regulations they create. When creating a new regulation, OMB advised, Each agency shall identify the problem that it intends to address (including, where applicable, the failures of private markets or public institutions that warrant new agency action) as well as assess the significance of that problem. Trump Trims Federal Regulations Since taking office in January 2017, President Donald Trump has carried through on his campaign promise to cut the number of federal regulations. On January 30, 2017, he issued an executive order entitled â€Å"Reducing Regulation and Controlling Regulatory Costs† directing the federal agencies to repeal two existing regulations for every new regulation and to do so in such a way that the total cost of regulations does not increase. According to an update status report on Trump’s order from the OMB, the agencies are far exceeding the two-for-one and regulatory cap requirements, having achieved a 22-1 ratio during the first eight months of FY 2017. Overall, notes the OMB, the agencies had cut 67 regulations while adding only 3 â€Å"significant† ones. By August 2017, Congress had exercised the Congressional Review Act to eliminate 47 regulations issued by President Barack Obama. In addition, the agencies had voluntarily withdrawn over 1,500 of Obama’s regulations that were under consideration but not yet finalized. Under Trump, the agencies have generally been more reluctant to propose new regulations. Finally, to help business and industry deal with existing regulations, Trump issued the Streamlining Permitting and Reducing Regulatory Burdens for Domestic Manufacturing on January 24, 2017. This order directs the agencies to expedite federal environmental review approval of bridge, pipeline, transportation, telecommunications and other infrastructure improvement projects.

Twelve Angry Men True Stories Of Being A Black Man Essay

The job of police officers around the world is to serve and protect the community; therefore, community members should feel safe and free under their protection. More often today in the United Sates, that is not the case. Several members of the black community do not feel safe under police protection; in fact, they feel like they are being harassed and threatened by the police. The accounts of people who feel this way has been growing ever since stories like Trayvon Martin, Sandra Bland, Michael Brown and many more. In the book Twelve Angry Men: True Stories of Being a Black Man in America Today edited by Gregory Parks and Matthew Hughey, Solomon Moore, Richard F., and Kent H. all share stories and personal experiences with the police. Solomon Moore was a criminal justice reporter, who was investigating gang activity in Salisbury, North Carolina, when he experience an encounter with the police (Moore 15-16). Moore was investigating the punitive strategies that the police were using a gainst gangs. As Moore was talking with a local gang, a lookout called out the signal that the police were coming. Three police cars pulled up and out stepped from the three cars were a white male and female officer and a black male officer. The white male officer summoned Moore over to him, and before anything was said, the officer slammed Moore down on the hood of the police car and slapped handcuffs on him ever so tightly (Moore 21). Again without an exchange of words, the female policeShow MoreRelatedTwelve Angry Men By Reginald Rose1043 Words   |  5 PagesIt is very hard to not allow prejudice out of your mind, making decisions about others. It always seems that prejudice obscures the truth whatever you do. This best sums up the story of the play, Twelve Angry Men. 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In the hands of the jurors lies the fate of a young man accused of stabbing his father. Throughout the film, the audience becomes familiar with each of the jurors and is quickly introduced to topics at issue such as discrimination, iniquitous motives, and concerns about the American judicial system. As the twelve jurors deliberate to reach a verdict, the filmRead MoreKing Of The Court : Bill Russell And The Basketball Revolution1412 Words   |  6 Pagesthe time, had minimal blacks living there. While the town itself was relatively peaceful in terms of racial tension, surrounding areas did not adopt the same views. One day when Bill and his older brother Chuck were tossing pebbles at one another, a stray stone hit a passing car being driven by a white man. The man called Bill a â€Å"nigger† and threatened to hang him. 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The Long-Term Impact of the Black Death on the Medieval Agriculture free essay sample

As one of the most severe plagues in human history, the Black Death was unprecedented in two ways: on one hand, it was undoubtedly a terrible nightmare, which swept the entire Europe and killed so many people; however, on the other hand, it was also a unique event that accelerated the process of European agricultural history. In years before the Black Death, the European agriculture was already in trouble. Agriculture has long been the foundation of economy and society, especially during the time as early as in the Middle Ages. As the foundation of agriculture, corn production was the most important agricultural activity at the time. However, corn production faced several problems, which severely cumbered the development of agriculture. We will write a custom essay sample on The Long-Term Impact of the Black Death on the Medieval Agriculture or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page The shortage of livestock was one of the obstacles, which led to both a lack of manure and low efficiency in culturing. Other reasons such as over-cultivation and lack of water conservancy facilities also encumbered the development of agriculture. At the same time, population was growing rapidly. Although the estimations of the growth rate were not exactly the same, there was a consensus among historians that the gross population in Europe almost doubled between 11th and 14th century. In year 1000 and year 1300, the population in France was 5 million and 15 million respectively; it was 3 million and 12 million in Germany respectively; in Italy the population was 5 million and 10 million respectively; and in the British Isles, it was 2 and 5 million. (1) A problem with a rapid population growth is that the population may gradually outgrow agriculture production. The poor balance between the rapid growing population and relatively slow growing agriculture once collapses, there would certainly be a severe disaster. As some historians pointed out, â€Å"output continued to rise but not as quickly as populations. High famine- and disease-related mortality led to demographic collapse and the circle started again. † (2) Though this was probably not the main reason of the eruption of the Black Death, the unbalance of population and productivity did contribute to the severity of the plague. The Black Death led first to short-term impacts. The most severe and direct impact of the Black Death to the European society was its threat and damage to the population. The epidemic was unrelenting at that time, as it carried with it a high mortality and the ability to infect fast, and joint with the undeveloped medicine system in the Middle Ages. The Black Death first attacked the area of Mediterranean, and the area along the Atlantic Ocean, where the trade centers and crowed harbors were. Then it marched all the way into the inland, virus carried by people and rats both through waterways and in-land traffic. In urban areas, the plague was especially menacing, since a higher population ensity offered the virus more opportunities to spread through contact between people. What’s more, the poor condition of public health facilities contributed to the severity of the plague. It is hard to assert an exact average mortality rate caused by the Black Death, because the severity of the plague varied in different parts of Europe and it also differed in urban and rural areas. There were places highly struck by the epidemic with mortality rates higher than 50%, such as the eastern area in England; and there were also places, such as the region of Bohemia, with a relatively low mortality rate of under 15%. There is another problem with the available statistics however, as most of these statistics only record the death of people who had a stable income and could afford tax or rent. This meant that the lower class of poor workers and peasants were not covered by most of the records. Thus we can only draw an estimated conclusion that, in general, the average mortality in Europe during the Black Death was between 30~50% (3). The Black Death also had another short-term impact, as it deeply damaged the agriculture in many ways. The first and most direct impact was that it led to a serious shortage of agricultural labor. Human labor was one of the most important elements in agriculture, especially in the Middle Ages, when agricultural technique and devices hadn’t been well developed. The high mortality and the lasting depopulation during the Black Death â€Å"led to an acute shortage of labor in the countryside† (4) thus impairing the productivity. The depopulation was accompanied by a reduction of output. In Leicester in England, there was severe shortage of servants and laborers, and â€Å"many crops rotted unharvested in the fields† (5). In the village of Elkington in Northamptonshire, the number of taxpayers seems to have decreased due to epopulation during the period between 1377 and 1412(6); and â€Å"by the first decade of the fifteenth century, grain production levels between the Tyne and Tees appear to have been less than one-third their level of a century earlier. Other parts in Europe suffered just as much. In Spain, depopulated villages and rising wages suggested that the area cultivated with cereals and vines fell in the aftermath of the Black Death; in the area around Cambrai in France, grain productivity fell up to 50 percent between 1320 to 1370 and witnessed a further drop of 25 percent by the mid fifteen century. 8) The Black Death added to the misery of the human society in Medieval Europe, which had already suffered great losses during the Great Famine. â€Å"Just over thirty years later (after the great famine), the Black Death swept through Europe, leaving few areas untouched, and was accompanied by a collapse in output levels. †(9) The Black Death disturbed the normal operation of the economy, as it was accompanied by an agricultural crisis. It seemed that the Black Death was an evil disaster which made the entire continent into a hell. But actually it was not the complete story. In addition to the immediate influences of depopulation and agricultural recession, the Black Death caused some deeper and long-term effects: it accelerated the decline of the serfdom and manorial system and thus, to some extent, altered the course of the European economy. As mentioned before, the Black Death caused a high mortality rate of approximately 30%~50%. With less labor, land lords had no choice but to reduce the rent in order to keep the peasants on their lands. As a result, the wages of those peasants increased. After the Black Death, the lucky survived peasants couldn’t bear the same burden as before the plague, and since labor turned out to be a scarce resource after the Black Death, the peasants had advantages when negotiating. Because of this, peasants started to demand more benefits for themselves. Though â€Å"this rising aspirations of workers prompted a variety of public and private strategies on the part of the employing classes to control them more tightly† , and some efforts were taken to control wages, but as â€Å" Landlords had no incentive to maintain a landless class simply for the sake of keeping wages low. They could not individually influence the prevailing wage rate, but they could improve their incomes by taking new tenants onto their land†, so they finally â€Å"negotiated wages upwards† â€Å"to get the labor they needed. † (10) At the same time, the mobility of serfs greatly increased and some peasants were able to flee from one manor to another. The main condition which made this mobility possible was the fact that labor was so scarce that serfs were usually welcomed by the manors they moved to. â€Å"Sturdy young men and women, hard workers, at a time that labor was scarce, could leave home and find employment elsewhere, no questions asked. While if lords didn’t allow their freedom, they could say that â€Å"they were determined to go and live somewhere else where they could be free—they and their descendants. † (12) And some of the serfs, though not many, even tried to migrate to towns where serfs were free, with the restriction that only if they managed to survive in the town for more than one year, could they be granted freedom. After the Black Death, the serfdom and manorial system were about to collapse, but this system had already begun to decline as early as the 13th century. Part of the cause of the decline was a change in the economic environment. Before the Black Death, as the economy grew, many of the areas in Europe began to commercialize. The original type of labor rents began to fail and there was instead an emergence of money rents. For example, in Cambridgeshire, the percentage relation of the money rent of free tenants, the money rent of villein, and labor rent was 32-28-40 per cent, according to the Hundred Rolls; in Bedfordshire, villein rent accounts for 61 per cent of the total, and the corresponding figure was 76 per cent in Buckinghamshire. The transformation of labor rent into money rent required the peasants to sell their harvest in the market, thus it helped peasants to expand their market involvement and to save some properties. Some of the serfs were able to buy partial or even complete freedom with the money they got from the market. And the manorial system itself had inner problems. â€Å"Manorial production had long been a dubious form of production† since â€Å"the yield from this type of production was so poor that even a slight change in the circumstances which surrounded it would wholly alter its method. (14) And here, the Black Death to some extent acted as the â€Å"slight† change that accelerated the process of collapse. So, as we can see, the decline of serfdom and manorial system had already begun before the Black Death, and though the Black Death wasn’t the original cause of the erosion of serfdom, it did accelerate the process as a big turning point. â€Å"The manorial system is broken up from within; but the process was accelerated under the influence of a factor exogenous to society—that is, the Black Death and its demographic consequences. (15) After the plague, the western European world changed greatly. In 15th century, servile obligations disappeared in many areas; in some regions in Italy and France appeared another system. In this system, lords were responsible to supply seeds and tools in addition to lands to the peasants; the products were allocated to lords and peasants at a prearranged proportion, regardless of the gross harvest amount; the peasants were free of any servile obligations. And in 16th century, serfdom was replaced by a new type of contract in most areas in Western Europe. According to this contract, peasants had access to the land while lords own the lands; after paying a certain amount of rent, peasants were free to sell the rest of the harvest in market; peasants were also free to leave the land, and lord had no right to force them back; peasants also had the right to allocate and dispose their properties. (16) However, this wasn’t the end of the story. The Black Death somehow led to a reappearance of serfdom in Eastern Europe. In order to increase their benefits, lords in Eastern Europe needed cheap labor whose freedoms they could restrict. So after the Black Death, the lords tried harder to force the peasants to stay in their lands, and increased their servile labor. In addition, as local monarchs were weak in Eastern Europe, it was even more difficult for peasants to escape from their lords without the support of monarchs. The Black Death also, to some extent, promoted a restructure of the economy in the Middle Ages. In a new economic environment when the prices of most products sky-rocked while the price of grain decreased, it could be costly for those lords who only produced grain. With the intention to earn more profit, many lords and peasants began to diversify their products and planted more commercial crops. For example, many cultivators began to cultivate saffron, a commercial crop with high value, in the mid-fifteen century in Cambridge shire in England. (17) As living standards improved, the demand for products such as wine, sugar and fruits also increased, so did the productivity of these crops. Productivity of some crops related to textile, one of the most developed industries in medieval Europe, also increased. And as the price of wool increased with a growing demand for it, combined with the scarcity of labor and the fact that sheep required little labor, many areas in Europe, such as Central Italy, the Roman Campagna, the Castiles and England, witnessed an â€Å"extraordinary development in one form of pasture-farming, that of sheep-rearing†. (18) Thus, in conclusion, rarely in history did a single epidemic ever so greatly impact an entire population and society across a continent as the Black Death did. It was a living hell for European people at that time, not only because of the high mortality rate but also the turbulence it created in the entire human society. But in the long-term, it accelerated the process of European agricultural transformation, and thus its long-term effects included the liberation of labor after the Black Death which helped the European economy to develop further.

The Miller in the General Prologue Essay Example For Students

The Miller in the General Prologue Essay Taking together the portrait of the Miller in the General Prologue with the framing material for the Tale, show how Chaucer creates a vivid sense of the teller. What is the likely effect on the reader?  Chaucers Canterbury Tales, a collection of tales told by pilgrims on a pilgrimage to Canterbury in the 14th Century, are famous not only for their portrayal of different characters within society and the humour that they provoke, but also for the fact that they were one of the first pieces of work to be written in Middle English. The Miller is one of the most memorable characters out of the pilgrims due to him drunkenly arguing to tell his tale after the Knight and also because of the content of his story, which contains a mixture of humour, realism and vulgarity. We will write a custom essay on The Miller in the General Prologue specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now From his description in the General Prologue, the Miller appears to be a character of commanding physical presence, a large man who revels in such displays of strength as wrestling matches and breaking down doors at a renning with his heed. Chaucer describes him as being a stout carl and big in both brawn and bones. The Miller is distinguished as wearing a white coat with a blue hood and having a swerd and bokelar bar by his side. He is said to have a huge beard, as red in colour as any sowe or fox, a vast mouth thats likened to a size of a furnace, wide, black nostrils, and a conspicuous wart on the tip of his nose, crowned by a mass of hairs compared in colour to the hairs of a sows ears. Depicted as being a janglere, someone who talks constantly, and a foul-mouthed teller of disreputable tales, Chaucer goes on to account the typical trait of a miller in 14th century society. Chaucer tells of how the Miller is capable of stelen corn and charging three times the price, as well as having a thombe of gold, however, although acquainted with the usual tricks of his trade, the Miller is also said to be an able bagpipe-player, whose piping accompanies the pilgrims departure from London. The fact that the description of the Miller is one of the last in the General Prologue causes the reader to recognise that the Miller was of a low social class. As social status was everything in the 14th century, due to the reigning feudal system of the time, it can be realised that the Millers position towards the end of the list of pilgrims indicates his place in the lower ranks of the social hierarchy. The detailed description accounted by Chaucer provides the reader with a clear visual image of the Miller, allowing his character to become more realistic. Specific physical qualities of the Miller, such as the wart on the end of his nose crowned by hairs, provoke elements of humour for the reader, and the personality traits depicted, such as stealing corn and charging high prices, along with his capability of winning wrestling matches, provides the reader with an accurate impression of the Miller as a person and it is in his description of the Miller that Chaucers humourous tone is chiefly displayed. The Millers Prologue begins by Chaucer narrating the success of the Knights Tale, claiming that within the group of pilgrims, neither the young nor elderly could dispute its status as a noble story. The Host, Harry Bailey, who devised the story-telling competition to pass the time on the pilgrimage, announces how well he thinks things are going so far. He claims of how unbekeled is the male, which could be seen as a metaphor of the opening of Pandoras box, declaring his thoughts that things are well underway. It is here that the Host invites the Monk to tell the next story of the competition, seemingly working his way through the pilgrims in order of social status. .u7a309d71d9d0cde80afeb5533848f22e , .u7a309d71d9d0cde80afeb5533848f22e .postImageUrl , .u7a309d71d9d0cde80afeb5533848f22e .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .u7a309d71d9d0cde80afeb5533848f22e , .u7a309d71d9d0cde80afeb5533848f22e:hover , .u7a309d71d9d0cde80afeb5533848f22e:visited , .u7a309d71d9d0cde80afeb5533848f22e:active { border:0!important; } .u7a309d71d9d0cde80afeb5533848f22e .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .u7a309d71d9d0cde80afeb5533848f22e { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .u7a309d71d9d0cde80afeb5533848f22e:active , .u7a309d71d9d0cde80afeb5533848f22e:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .u7a309d71d9d0cde80afeb5533848f22e .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .u7a309d71d9d0cde80afeb5533848f22e .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .u7a309d71d9d0cde80afeb5533848f22e .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .u7a309d71d9d0cde80afeb5533848f22e .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .u7a309d71d9d0cde80afeb5533848f22e:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .u7a309d71d9d0cde80afeb5533848f22e .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .u7a309d71d9d0cde80afeb5533848f22e .u7a309d71d9d0cde80afeb5533848f22e-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .u7a309d71d9d0cde80afeb5533848f22e:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: Play It Again Rita EssayThe Knight was the most noble out of the group of pilgrims, and second to him came the Church, of which the Monk was of the highest position. It is the Hosts intention that others of the more noble pilgrims shall follow the Knight, however, it is not Chaucers, as the Miller, who at this point is so drunk that he can barely sit on his horse, rudely intervenes ahead of the Monk. He claims that he kan a noble tale for the nones with which he will rival the tale of the Knights. Due to the profile of the Miller that the reader was able to read in the General Prologue and as well as the fact that he is drunk, it can be established that a noble tale from t he Miller is unlikely and that we, the readers, are in for a tale of sinne and harlotries. Harry Bailey realises the drunken state of the Miller and attempts to pacify him, as he says that a better man shall tell the next tale and things will proceed in the right order. It is at this point that the Miller becomes quite disgruntled and childishly threatens For I wol speke, or elles go my way. The Host relents grudgingly, Tel on, a devel way! and the Miller proceeds to tell the rest of the group that hes aware of his drunkenness as he can hear it in his own voice, and therefore apologises for anything that he says which may cause offence, and that it should be put down to the ale of Southwerk. It is here that the reader can identify the irony of Chaucers writing, as the Miller is still drunk from the night before on the ale that was supplied at the tavern, the landlord of which being Harry Bailey. As the Miller has claimed that anything he says which is not of a moral standard should be blamed on his drunkenness, the reader can note Chaucers use of a clever tactic as this announcement gets him off the hook. Chaucer henceforth has an alibi for writing crude parts of the story as he can say that it was not him telling the tale, but in fact the Miller. Chaucer, through the Miller, who he ironically disapproves of in his narrators voice, challenges the conventions of subject and values, which were exhibited in the previous tale. Having placated the Host, the Miller then quarrels with the Reeve, after promising a tale of the cuckolding of a carpenter. The Reeve objects to the Millers Tale as he is of a similar trade to that of the carpenter in the tale, and so believes that the tale will project the idea that all craftsmen are cuckolds. The Miller responds by pulling the Reeves leg, as he says Who hath no wyf, he is no cokewoldThat knowestow wel thyself, but if thou madde. In ironically implying that most women are faithful, the Miller casts doubt on the Reeves marriage, whilst providing no obvious cause for offence. In the exchange of repartee which follows, the Miller comes off the better, as he suggests that he would never query his wifes fidelity, and by doing so, calls in doubt the Reeves objections to his proposed tale, implying a slander, whilst seemingly being reasonable. Having presented all of this neutrally, Chaucer now introduces his own comment in the guise of narrator, he apologises to the reader for the tale which he must tell, he asserts, out of journalistic entirety. The irony of this is of course apparent to the reader as Chaucer has written the tale and clearly takes delight in the humour of this. However, there is also a sense that the comment is not ironic as the decision to provide a range of tales requires truthful reflections of the conduct of real people. .uec515d33c8af586d65e59793905cafc0 , .uec515d33c8af586d65e59793905cafc0 .postImageUrl , .uec515d33c8af586d65e59793905cafc0 .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .uec515d33c8af586d65e59793905cafc0 , .uec515d33c8af586d65e59793905cafc0:hover , .uec515d33c8af586d65e59793905cafc0:visited , .uec515d33c8af586d65e59793905cafc0:active { border:0!important; } .uec515d33c8af586d65e59793905cafc0 .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .uec515d33c8af586d65e59793905cafc0 { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .uec515d33c8af586d65e59793905cafc0:active , .uec515d33c8af586d65e59793905cafc0:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .uec515d33c8af586d65e59793905cafc0 .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .uec515d33c8af586d65e59793905cafc0 .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .uec515d33c8af586d65e59793905cafc0 .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .uec515d33c8af586d65e59793905cafc0 .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .uec515d33c8af586d65e59793905cafc0:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .uec515d33c8af586d65e59793905cafc0 .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .uec515d33c8af586d65e59793905cafc0 .uec515d33c8af586d65e59793905cafc0-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .uec515d33c8af586d65e59793905cafc0:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: Oscar Wilde's comedy 'The Importance of being Ernest' is entwined around the concept of mistaken identity EssayNearing the end of the Prologue, Chaucer makes a warning toward the reader, almost like a disclaimer, demeth nat that I seye Of ivel entente, but for I moot reherce Hir tales alle, be they bettre or werse, that if the reader chooses to read on, they do so at their own risk, which in turn only whets the readers appetite even more. It is towards the end of the Millers Prologue that the reader begins to feel an element of illusion, as what they are reading is fiction, yet Chaucer directly addresses them in his narration. As he implicitly addresses the reader a sense of realism is evoked and they may feel as if what they are reading really took place.