I know (and agree with) the gripe that Chess Life has gone downhill since beginning to focus on Scholastic Events (one or two articles in each issue are dedicated to them). Most of your other points, however, I disagree with.
Membership costs are lower for students just like they are for all other organizations and events. This needs to happen for a number of reasons; for one, kids are more likely to lost interest in the hobby after going to one or two tournaments, so the average adult who's been playing the game for years is much more likely to stay active than a kid whose new to chess. Also, parents aren't likely to refuse the pay the $18 for a year membership. Simple put, any national organization needs to attract young players, because they are the ones that will develop into the top masters.
I tend get extremely annoyed whenever someone refers to G/30 - G/60 as "Skittles". It is just as much chess as the ten hour marathons played by grandmasters. These time controls are in place because the players in this event simply don't need three hours, and giving them that will simply waste time. Also, these time controls are put in place to allow an entire tournament to be played in one day. Of course, if you'd like tourneys with longer time controls, do something! Don't just complain. Take the exam needed to become a tournament director, or, if you have a club, see if there's a registered TD around. It's your tournament, you can run it however you want.
Finally, I don't believe students leaving as they age is indicative of anything; as one moves through their education, they have less time to go to these events. Some of my chess-playing friends have become less active, and they have nothing bad to say about the USCF.
As precisely a person you say the USCF is helping (14 year-old with a 1300 rating), I think I have some valid points. And for future posts, please try to use paragraphs 
I just read a posting by "NOCAB" aka Michael Bacon who wrote the following over on the USCF forums: "... The main reason for becoming a member is to play in tournaments, and I'm not doing that these days. And with an attitude like the one shown by the remarks of the President, it would seem I will not be playing in any Senior tournaments in the near future.... "The fact is that the magazine [Chess Life] has become uninteresting. I read New in Chess and Chess Monthly. They cost more, but then, thay are worth every dollar! I print-out copies of the excellent articles on the Chess Cafe and Chessbase, and they are FREE! Even the articles on USChess online are more interesting than Chess Life, and, they too are free. After spending all that time on these excellent sites, and with those excellent magazines, I find I hardly spend any time at all actually reading Chess Life. Simply put, USCF should PAY ME to read the thing! Reading the response by Mr Berry has made up my mind. I will NOT renew my membership. Maybe he can "pick up a dozen or more players" from Oklahoma to offset the loss of my membership in what I now consider to be the United States Scholastic Chess Federation." Like Mr. Bacon, and Mr. Terrie, a couple years ago I allowed my membership to lapse. I find that while ADULTS (anyone over the age of 25) comprise only 42% of the USCF , they pay 62% of the collected dues. Mr. Bacon is also right when he suggests that the USCF should change its name to United States Scholastic Chess Federation." to more accurately reflect the membership: 37% of the USCF membership is under the age of 12!!!! An additional 10% are between 13-15 years of age. so right there you have 47% -- almost half -- Teenagers and "Young Adults" comprise another 11%. Thus some 58% of the USCF membership is under the age of 25!! Next year I hope to attend the U.S. Senior Open. The politics of the USCF, which I joined back in 1970, however seems to get worse and worse. Indeed the USCF, originally an ADULT organization has been hijacked by the Scholastic Organizers. I have real problems with the USCF and its attitude. I asked WHY the USCF "dual rates" G/30 - G/60, which were primarily introduced so that scholatic players could obtain their "Regular" USCF ratings. G/30 - G/60 are skittles time controls in reality. I asked WHY couldn't all G/30 be quick chess rated ONLY, or in the alternative, allow the player to choose in all G/30 - G/60 if they want to be dual rated; or ONLY Quick Chess rated. When I tried logical discourse on the subject, I was told. "If you don't like the time controls, DON'T PLAY!!!". My reply was along the lines, "Well if I can not play", then why pay?" ... so I dropped my USCF membership. The type of attitude that was exhibited to me over on the USCF forums was simply disgraceful. There is NO reason -- especially given the very steep dues ADULTS pay to the USCF -- that they should not be allowed to CHOOSE which of their ratings should be affected at these skittles time controls. I would love to play in G/30 - G/60 events as I believe they would be FUN events, but like both Mr. Bacon and Mr. Terrie, I find these time controls to be too fast to put a life time rating on the line. I am not only an older adult, but also disabled. I was told I was being "unreasonable" and why should the USCF yield to the "demands" of a "DISABLED older adult?". No matter how hard I tried to reach a compromise, no matter how much logic I applied, I was shouted down. This in spite of what USCF's own internal data showed which confirmed what I and many seniors had being hearing and/or seeing. I suspect the reason the USCF thinks it can get its way is that it believes it, and it alone, is the ONLY game in town. As Mr. Bacon poited out, the fact is the USCF has a LOT of competition that take the form of Internet Chess Servers. Frequently you can become a "member" for FREE!! or at little cost, and most of the content is superior to that rag the USCF puts out. The USCF is simply Out Of Touch, they feel they can keep piling on the membership fees on Adults and Seniors, but refuse to allow people to choose how they want to be rated. I don't need to be a member of the USCF just to play chess, nor do I need to pay big bucks to obtain a "rating", or just to have fun. They don't want to spend the time, energy, or money to appeal to their older Adults and Seniors -- we are simply NOT wanted -- but they expect us to pay 62% of the dues. Yes they very much WANT OUR MONEY, but don't want to give us any choice how we want to be rated in these skittle time control tournaments. The USCF needs a severe wake up call, because older members are leaving. Here is the reality: A graph prepared by the USCF itself which looked at membership and age between 1999 -2009 showed a huge spike in the scholastic membership (K-8) until students start entering into High school, at which point scholastic memberships start dropping, and by the time they reach 19-20 years of age, 95% or more of that cohort have left the USCF, while the "Adult" proportion of the membership, the backbone of the USCF, is getting increasingly older and grayer. You would think especially during this recession, that the USCF would want to do anything it had to to retain its older ADULTS and SENIOR members, but the opposite is true: we are not wanted, just our money. If the USCF does not mend its ways with their older adults and seniors, I suspect by 1013-2015 at the latest the USCF will have ceased to exist -- that or it will have morphed to become The United States (Scholastic) Chess Federation.