My siblings and I were all involved in scouting when we were kids, and my children have been involved in scouting. It's been very good for all of us. I genuinely use something that I learned (or had reinforced) in scouting each and every day.
The key, however, is understanding that every troop isn't equal. Some leaders are really great, seek out wonderful opportunities for their kids, plan good trips and service projects . . . and others just bring in coloring pages. You'll find some troops that are very outdoorsy, others who focus on trips, others who are crafty. As a parent, it's incumbent upon you to ask about what the troop has done in past years and determine whether this is a troop that fits your child's needs. You can do this by asking the council office or the service unit for specifics beyond, "This is a troop for 4th-6th graders and it meets on Tuesdays." Also pay attention to the meeting place. In our area we have two churches that are VERY supportive of scouting, who provide excellent meeting rooms, storage closets, etc. The best, most active leaders tend to be in these spots.
As for the money, scouting is pretty low-cost compared to other kids' activities. When my children took gymnastics, it was something like $60/month . . . in contrast, scouting costs more like $100/year. Of course, that's off-set by fund raisers, but scout fund raisers are supposed to be activities that actively involve the kids -- for example, car washes, yard sales, or yard clean ups -- instead of sales of candy bars and wrapping paper. Of course, this is going to depend heavily upon the leader and the troop into which you happen to fall. Some troops do trips to Build-a-Bear and other expensive places, while others take part in near-free activities like touring the Post Office. Again, it's all about making sure you get into a troop that supports your values.
The one exception, of course, is Girl Scout cookies. Someone commented that the girls only keep a small portion of the cookie sales. This is true, but not really complete: Cookies (in my area) sell for a whopping $4 per box. The scout troop itself keeps .75 of each box, and the girls can use that for a camping trip or a service project or whatever. That sounds bad. BUT the council office keeps something like $2 from each box, and when you're talking about a council being half a state, you're talking about a great deal of money. The council spends that money on camps. These camps tend to have troop houses, platform tents, cabins, etc. that can be rented for $25/night. Our council puts out a 350-page book every fall with LOADS of programs for troops. Leaders don't have to seek out their own resources; they can just sign up for these programs. They vary widely: We've taken our scouts to the indoor climbing place, we've done an overnight at a history museum, we've taken them to high-adventure overnights where they completed high-ropes courses, we've done an overnight in a cave, we've attended womens' sports events at colleges . . . and so much more. Also, the council has tubs that leaders can "check out" that are themed for various badges; these are big time savers for leaders. This is all very welcome to the leaders because we can't all have resources for everything -- for example, when my troop wanted to learn archery, I didn't have a place to get equipment, etc., so I was glad to be able to sign up to attend a Saturday at one of our camps, knowing that everything was provided, including the trainer. And these programs are all cheap for the troops; except for overnights, the programs are rarely more than $5/girl. So council offices are using that money well.
I personally think they've done less well in the past few years, but I think I believe that because my girls are older now. They focus the majority of their programs on the elementary /middle school girls, girls who also make up the majority of the membership and who sell the most cookies.
