Barbara Ehrenreich: The Piggery Award

While pondering Congress's rejection of a minimum wage increase this week, it's helpful to recall the basic taxonomic distinction between Predators and Pigs. Predators - in this case, those who employ people at unlivable wages - suck the marrow out of their employees, transform eager young women into stress-injured cripples, and virtually orphan the children whose parents are forced to work two or more jobs to support them.

Pigs, on the other hand, sit by wriggling with delight at these cannibalistic proceedings. It's their job to oink out choruses of praise for the Predators. "Predation is Prosperity!" they proclaim, all the while hoping that some little scraps of flesh will fall their way.