What do you consider too low? I don't have number. Whatever wouldn't allow your Lodge to pay its bills. Otherwise, is your Lodge trying to profit from its members.
What would be too high for you to pay? Again, I don't have a number because it's a hypothetical question. I won't be able to truly answer unless I was backed into that corner. I could say this or that, but until confronted with it and writing the check, there is just no way to answer. I don't put a number on Masonry.
What is your "Goldilocks" amount you'd pay for dues? Clearly I am thrifty, so the least I can get away with! I still long for the days of my youth when $10 meant a full tank of gas. I remember others as well as myself losing it when gas went to $1 a gallon. Using the analogy someone did earlier, $50 is a tank of gas. I remember being in a position when I filled up, thinking "That was just five hours of work I'll never get back." Thanks to loyalty discounts, I was able to fill up for $2.83 a gallon yesterday and was giddy. It pains me to fill up with gas. Heck, you can't even go to the grocery store or Walmart anymore without dropping $100.
What should be done about members who are older and on a fixed budget, especially if they don't have an endowed membership? It was said earlier to drop 'em. Wow. Just this year we had a PM demit because he has retired and can no longer afford to pay the dues. We had a PHP demit from the Chapter and Council because he can no longer afford the $34 combined dues. Both were valuable Masons, and now both are gone.
What do endowed/life memberships cost in your state? 20X dues+per capita tax. I am a life member of my Chapter and Council. I will do a Lodge life membership this year, which will cost $1300. I wish I was in a position financially 10 years ago to have done it.