Recession Hits Summer Camp

TIME:

In the five years since Jed Dorfman has been running Camp Walt Whitman, a posh haven complete with water-skiing and private boats in Piermont, N.H., that charges as much as $9,450 for a seven week-long stay, he has had to work out payment plans and extended deadlines to help only one or two families. Until this year, that is. A few months ago, with the enrollment deadline fast approaching, he called the families of several kids who had been coming to camp for years but hadn't signed up yet for 2009. He heard details about grandparents who had footed the bill for camp losing their money to Bernie Madoff.

Read the whole story: TIME

Comments

[TJCole]

Good less spoiled rich kids up here, and less of their miserable parents and their terrible driving..!

[rogerthat21]

good political & economic articles: http://iamned.blogspot.com

[trinity]

I remember going to a month long summer camp once (just once, it was too expensive for a repeat visit and I hated it anyway). This was in the 80's and there were just as many girls from Columbia there (all with the last name of Escobar) as American girls. It seemed that business was growing among foreign campers and the camp started actively pushing that direction. I guess other countries enjoyed the excess of the 80s as much as we did.

[WhatWouldJesusBomb]

It's Colombia, d.i.p.s.h.i.t.

[trinity]

Sorry,oh genius one...get a life.

[gcallaghan]

Oh no, what a waste, Now all that pot the counselors planted last summer will go to waste.

[tlgeiger62]

This is one of the things that I use to make my point that I cannot worry about leaving debt for my grandchild­ren...it's enough that I have to disappoint my child left and right NOW. She used to take piano lessons, kung fu and attended art and science camps in the summer.

Now that both my husband and I are now unemployed and struggling, we've had to eliminate ALL of it. We've tried to do other things to keep things entertaining and moving but we liked to think we were expanding her horizons. We can't do it any longer - at least not where we're paying other people and companies.

[sonoffestus]

I hated summer camp. Thankfully my folks listen to me and let me roam the local woods,fish and bike all summer and float down the river on a raft buddies and I made from old inner tubes and canvas tarp. We called ourselves the "river rats". Not too creative, but I still laugh about it with my friends who took part. The freedom of not going to camp, forced me to be more creative and it saved my folks some cash. I also started a bait business one summer. It was cool to stay up at night to go catch nightcrawlers and then down to the pond to net shinners. Boy, was that fun. Because of this I understood what it took to make a buck. I was 13 at the time and now at 56, I couldn't think of a better way to spend a summer vacation. Matter of fact, it sounds like as good retirement plan, though I'll have to upgrade to a "Shanty Boat".

Today though, many parents would be afraid their kids might get wet. They send them to camp where they'll be looked after and give the parents a break from the little darlings. I guess going to a $9000.00 camp does get the parents prepared for paying for their kids education, but only barely.

[skippypicasso]

That camp better provide sushi flown in from Japan daily and training sessions with Olympic medalists.

[JoeGdr]

Summer camp provides "a break for beleaguered parents." Are you kidding me? The kids spend the rest of the year at school.

No water skiing this year? Boo-freaking-hoo.

[epitomized]

I think everybody is using the "Bernie Madoff excuse" for their evaporated wealth.

Is there anybody that was only wealthy on paper -- and is now broke -- not blaming it on Madoff?

[MamaBird62]

They might just be trying to spare the guy's feelings by not telling him that 10 grand for summer camp is a joke.