Tax extension

I don't understand why we can't "decouple" the tax rates. Let the upper expire, keep the rest the same. Change the capital gains, and dividend rates to 20% instead of letting it expire and automatically being raised to 40%.

Am I missing something?

Yes, I agree that temporary tax cut have little effect.
So let's make permanent those tax cuts which effect the vast majority (probably over 90%) of consumers and small business owners.

I don't understand where the confusion is coming from?

Small business and tax bracket

let's take a look.

"Of the 15.5 million individuals whose primary ocupation was self-employment (incorporated and unincorporated), the median personal marginal federal tax rate was 10 percent in 2008. Only 4.1 percent of the self-employed were in the marginal tax bracket of 33 percent or more."

Source: US Dept of Commerce, Census Bureau, Current Population Survey, March Supplement (special tabulation).

So I ask you, do rich people (>$200,000/yr) own small business?

Fact: Small business generate the most new jobs.
Fact: Most small business owners are not "rich".

Conclusion:
If the tax cuts for people earning more than $250,000/yr are allowed to expire, there will be minimal impact on small business, because a majority of the owners of those businesses will not be effected by the tax "increase".

Is this correct? Am I missing something?