As others have said, there is no way MCA judging can ever be an exact science. There are way too many variables at play when you look at the big picture. What do you think the judging used to be like in the 80's before folks knew much about the cars? It was a whole different ballgame back then. At least now, we have more comprehensive rules and can strive for a higher level of consistency.
In regards to where the MCA dues money goes, that is just a small drop in the bucket and I believe up until recently, MCA was paying more per member than they were receiving. I don't know if that has been completely corrected yet. Most of the money goes towards the publication of Mustang Times. MCA employs 2 full time personnel also, the MCA Times Editor and the Office Manager. As I recall, the club operates on about a $500k budget. Of course, you should be able to find this information by contacting someone on the MCA Board of Directors. MCA is a non-profit organization.
You've come on here and explained your perspective of things and we are only giving you the MCA perspective and why things might be the way they are. We never try to say things with MCA are perfect, there is always room for improvement. It's too bad that you've had to experience what you did so early on, but then again, you are rather new to all of this, so a learning curve should have been expected. I would have hoped your car would have been judged properly the first time though, at least that could have prepared you for anything later on. In the end, remember that the judges are told to be coaches in helping to improve your car. At least that is what I was telling everyone the past few years. If the owners and judges take that mentality, then things greatly improve. As I mentioned before, I would completely trust Fred's judging team and would highly recommend you send off for the sheets and see what you can do to improve the car. You may find that a lot of it is easily fixed and then next time, you shouldn't have much of a problem scoring Gold.