Matt,
It would cost the average club more in time and effort to calculate the variable costs involved than the cost savings to the members affected who otherwise would pay for that time and effort in additional dues.
Yes, private clubs in the US are generally for the more wealthy, but most are actually effectively small businesses that run on thin margins. They neither have the staff nor the software to implement academic pricing models. Indeed, for most, the staff are overworked and underpaid.
Ira
Ira,
All of this is fine, and in generally I agree, but my point still stands. Even if the costs are back-of-the-envelope guesses, then the guesses are being made in an alternate pricing structure anyway. Everyone wins as the pricing closer reflects the costs, no matter how expensive of a microscope people are using, because your always less likely to end up getting the cost wrong and having to make up for it.
My point here isn't about actually breaking these costs down. It's about communicating to the members with what they are being charged for, and why they are being charged. You can see where folks like Jeff feel like they are not being treated equitably when an arbitrary fee is assessed. We can see where folks like Bernie might have different values in how the needed fees are distributed. My point is members of a club generally are going to want to be treated equitably, and in the club doing it's best to be open about it's costs (to the best of their limited ability) in assessing fees to cover those costs (according to the way the organization wants to structure itself), then your going to have more harmony and people feeling like they are getting a fair shake.
Some people might not care about this, but many will.