The recently signed tax compromise bill-also unofficially known as Stimulus II-not only contains a two-year extension of the Bush tax cuts for everyone, including those who don't want it except for the politicians who obsessively pushed for it. It also included about 50 or so tax breaks for businesses.

I already detailed the bonus depreciation and R&D tax credit.

The Internal Revenue Service recently released some information to help companies take advantage of a tax credit provided by the health reform law.

The IRS estimates that about 4 million businesses qualify, and is sending out notices to as many as possible advising them of the tax break. If you haven't received anything but believe your company may qualify, here's what you should know:

Let's face it. Even if you love the health care bill, you have to concede it will be very costly. Someone must pay for guaranteeing that those with pre-existing conditions are covered and lifetime caps are lifted.

And it is mostly going to be corporations; small businesses with at least 50 employees; individuals who earn at least $200,000 (couples at $250,000), many of whom are deemed to be rich by the left but to be hard-working successful people by most others; and those with so-called Cadillac insurance plans, except, of course, union workers who typically vote Democrat.

Acutely aware that growing joblessness is becoming an ugly issue that’s only going to get uglier as cold weather sets in, the Obama administration is considering offering tax credits to businesses that hire new workers.   

It’s part of what may now be a try-anything strategy as the politics of double-digit employment become more apparent: how are you demonstrating effective leadership when one of four households has experienced a job layoff in the past year, when the employment picture is only getting worse and when banks are bailed out while working people are thrown under the bus?