Inside the Beltway: Alarmed by the Feds

It could be raining regulations soon, should the wishes of Rep. Henry A. Waxman of California and Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island come true. The two Democrats have launched an aggressive Bicameral Climate Change Task Force, and they have taken their case to 300 major businesses, manufacturers, charities, interest groups, academic institutions, think tanks and even professional sports organizations. The lawmakers seek advice, they say, by Feb. 20.

“What actions or policies could federal agencies adopt, using existing authorities, to make our nation more resilient to the effects of climate change?” they ask, noting that “we have a moral obligation to act.”

And among the many who have received this missive: Home Depot Inc., the Heritage Foundation, Boeing Co., Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the Walt Disney Co., Harvard University, Coca-Cola Co., the National Football League, DuPont, Hasbro Inc., Major League Baseball, Google Inc., Apple Inc., the AFL-CIO, the Cato Institute, the National Council of the Churches of Christ, the Competitive Enterprise Institute, the Port of Los Angeles, and the Wine Institute.

STILL BREWING

The tea party alternative to Facebook fires up Saturday. In the works for three months, the “Tea Party Community” offers a comfortable Facebook-ian appearance and layout, with similar user interface. There the similarity ends.

“Tea Party Community is family owned and operated by conservative Christians, who believe God, family and country come before all else,” the founders say in their mission statement. “We encourage all conservatives to join the new community and enjoy all the familiarity of Facebook, without all the restrictions it’s free and always will be.” Find them here: teapartycommunity.com.

POLL DU JOUR

• 80 percent of business managers and workers said their work productivity declined after they were treated rudely on the job.

• 78 percent said their commitment to the organization declined because of incivility at work.

• 66 percent said their performance declined because of incivility.

• 63 percent lost time at work “avoiding the offender.”

• 50 percent say they were treated rudely at work at least once a week.

• 48 percent intentionally decreased their work effort because of workplace incivility.

• 25 percent take their frustration out on customers because of it; 12 percent left their job.

Source: A Georgetown University/Thunderbird School of Global Management survey of 800 managers and employees in 17 industries compiled during 2011-2012, and released Thursday via the Harvard Business Review.

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