Why are we as taxpayers paying dues for this organization?

Its sole purpose is to find a way to extract more money from people who buy things under the guise of "Fairness." Formed in 2000, its "about us" page says:

"The goal of this effort is to find solutions for the complexity in state sales tax systems that resulted in the U.S. Supreme Court holding (Bellas Hess v. Illionis and Quill Corp. v. North Dakota) that a state may not require a seller that does not have a physical presence in the state to collect tax on sales into the state"

First, I should point out that compliance will NEVER be as simple as whatever their ultimate outcome is touted to be.  The burden on small business increases yearly with nearly every law passed by our state legislators, and especially so with the efforts of the US congress and administration.  Unable to absorb new duties/responsibilities as designated by all the elected busy bodies without significant time for compliance measures WILL destroy small business in America; resulting in higher unemployment, and deepening resentment for overreaching government.

For a little deeper look into this issue, and about the organization above go to Grass Roots In Michigan. At one point she mentions that:

"SSUTA moves towards taxation without representation in two ways. First, state lawmakers' authority regarding significant portions of state tax codes is given to an outside entity, moving representation further away from those states' citizens. Second, businesses outside of such states are subjected to taxation - not limited to, but including sales / use tax -  but have no representation in those states' governments."

Incredible defense closing the deal in Pasadena.

We knew the costs that "green energy" programming in Michigan would incur on the taxpayers left in the state.  The utilities knew this as well, and wasted no efforts in having such draconian reversals of free markets passed with the likes of HB 5524 (2007):

"Passed 78 to 29 in the House on September 18, 2008, to adopt a compromise version of the bill reported by a House-Senate conference committee. This would mostly end the state's electric competition law that allows customers to choose an alternative provider; allow the utilities to impose surcharges on customers so they can recoup the "costs" incurred from Michigan's experiment with competitive electricity markets; and phase out over five years the current cross-subsidization of residential customers by commercial and industrial ones. The bill would guaranty DTE and Consumers Power at least 90 percent of the utility business in the areas they serve, even if other providers offer lower prices. The bill is tie-bared to Senate Bill 213, which imposes "renewable" energy mandates on utilities. "

SB 213 was a doozy, with each chamber ratcheting up the mandate for renewable energy produced each time it was reconciled:

"Introduced by Sen. Patricia Birkholz (R) on February 20, 2007, to mandate that electric utilities acquire at least 4 percent of their power from "renewable" sources, growing to at least 8 percent by 2013. .. to mandate that electric utilities acquire at least 7 percent of their power from "renewable" and "clean" sources (including "carbon capture" coal plants) by 2015 .. to mandate that Michigan electric utilities acquire 10 percent of their power from "renewable" sources by the end of 2015. .."

And as long as the power monopoly remained, it was no problem for the major utilities in Michigan.  They get 90% of the market GUARANTEED by legislation, and the ratepayer gets the shaft through piss poor legislation and cronyism.

One legislator is bringing some attention back to this.

New federal standards as a result of Fred Upton's foray into progressive design have resulted in the loss of American light bulb producing Jobs, and the end of the traditional incandescent bulb as we know it.  As seen with the reelection of Obama, as well as Upton, I guess Interference in the course of an individual's personal choices is just the way government operates, so we just sit back and reelect the smug jerks bent on schtupping us and laughing about it.

Of course, American ingenuity is tested on a regular basis by those who every day face the effect of government 'Upton' types, and markets will find a way to offer similar goods.  Its usually smarter than the elected class and can find its way out of some insane bureaucratic mazes. In this case it is in the form of "rough service" MADE-IN-USA incandescent bulbs that we will sell on a test basis in our retail store in Traverse City.

Warm light from a real incandescent bulb is the way to go.  And they taste better anyhow.

Paul Harvey, one of the greatest commentators and radio personalities ever, nailed it down.

"Live now, pay later,"

Aside from the obvious reference to unearned hedonism and individual irresponsibility, it should be noted that governments derived from such careless individuals as the "live now" crowd can bring all of us even closer to being debt slaves.  Yet even without the notion of pleasure as an advance reward to leadership, the function of government runs unabated. One might find it differently in private enterprise however, according to Jack Spencer at Cap Con:

"In the private sector, businesses can't ignore economic reality by giving in to unrealistic union demands. They open their books and say, "look, we've had a lousy couple of years. We have to cut back or go under. We can't give you what you want." That reality check doesn't apply to government, which is always bargaining with other people's money. Those "other people" are us, the taxpayers. Over the decades, when faced with unpopular choices of cutting services or raising taxes, government officials have given unions most of what they asked for and left the tab to be picked up by future generations."

I've been there.  In fact, I have been in both places simultaneously.  At the business owned by my wife and I, folks haven't received raises in three years, yet as a county commissioner in 2012 I was present while union employees received automatic 1.5% increases. It made no sense to me that it should be so easy for a nearly unanimous Republican board to approve of such a thing, but over the years we have discovered that fiscal insanity is a scourge that has set upon both Capulet AND House Montague.

And it is generational too.  So much so, that entire infrastructures are collapsing from the weight that has long had its supports removed.  Pensions as a part of governmental financial negligence as referenced in the Cap Con piece above are responsible for cities literally falling apart, and legitimate public safety services being eliminated.

So what have we done to solve this?

The Republican National Committee's Research Department released a twelve-part series on the overall damage that our president's "signature achievement" has done, and continues to do, to the domestic economy.  Not by coincidence, the research pieces were timed to release one per day during the run-up to the president leaving for his Christmas holiday on December 20th.  An executive summary, with links to each of the research articles, follows the break.