CAco, I understand the frustration. We all operate within a budget - some have more revenues coming in, others have different priorities, others have multiple children, etc., which limit the unlimited amount which could be spent in this race.
I understand a kid wanting to play for the best travel team; but at the cost your referencing? Wow.
While baseball is off in the rear view mirror for our family, I will note - again - that my son didn't play on a travel ball team past 9th grade; and, all the teams he played on before that would be considered purely local. The lone exception was the fall scout ball league which played solely in Southern California and cost $80 per player (two seasons).
A college coach doesn't recruit teams; he recruits individual players.
We prioritized (1) individual skill building with good coaches (Pitching and conditioning were successes [same coach], hitting was a waste) and (2) showcase type camps (e.g., Stanford, HF, and even the local D1 camp). Virtually zero dollars went to team related stuff.
If a kid develops individual skills which are good enough to allow him a shot at the next level, there is an entire industry - pro and college - which is devoted to finding him. It sounds cliche, but except for an outlier here and there, EVERY player with that potential is found. Our area scouts here will literally drive a few hours into the desert to watch a kid play on his HS grassless field buffeted with high winds and tumble weeds. Moreover, if a scout sees a kid who doesn't have the pro potential (yet), that scout has a complete network of college coaches covering a gamut of schools to whom he will inform about the kid. One of my son's former teammates was the area scout in western Texas; drove 100,000 miles his first year looking, looking, searching, searching. This system is totally designed to find everyone.
Parents: unlimited sums can be spent. That's fine - if you have it and choose to spend it on baseball. But, most of that most of that money isn't doing much to get you to the goal. Kids are recruited based upon their existing skills and potential; not whether the kid hits the cutoff during a game (for parents of college players: how many times do you see outfielders missing their cutoff man in college? But that outfielder can hit.) Skills are the goal, so skill building is the key. Therefore, take that money and put it where it gets maximum bang for that buck. IMO, travel teams provide the lowest bang for the buck.
(Example: my son - smallish [at least in HS] LHP got multiple offers as a result of the following venues: HF (x3), Stanford (x2), Scout Ball (x2), HS ball (a worse team could not be found, but he loved it), AND after throwing bullpens in his PCs back yard in front of scouts and coaches.)
Don't blindly follow your parental peers; the overwhelming majority are not following any thought out plan and are simply following the herd.