Hey I just noticed that some of the runs don't pay as well as they would irl....for example irl the wetwork pays from 50,000 for a typical hit to 250,000 for a high profile target (before anyone shoots me any weird looks my old man was a cop) but alot of this stuff should pay better than the sugested price...especially since most characters are taking one run a month.

It's a case of supply and demand. The 6th world has a much larger pool of people willing and able to commit a lot of crimes, which means that there's always someone looking to undercut the average contract criminal, which drives down the prices that the middle of the pack can command.

what's the pricelist you are going off of? just the one wetwork?

well no there's a lopt of other stuff that seems like it would be alot better paying in real life.

I've had some eses offer to kill anyone I wanted just because I sat down and had drinks with them.
Realistically, you can get a hired gun or low-rent hitman to shoot someone for about $1500.
There's plenty enough sociopaths out there who don't give half a squat about killing someone and will do it basically just for bragging rights and a new plasma screen tv.

The suggested pay for any shadowrun is based on game balance, not on any real-world comparative criteria. The runs should pay enough that the 'runners can recoup their expenses from carrying out the mission, and take home a significant profit to be able to further their own goals. If the prices suggested in the books aren't working for your group, the runs may be too difficult and require too much expenditure by the players. Basically, if the suggested prices aren't working for your play style, talk with the GM and let him know so you can work something out that's good for the characters.

Maybe their playstyle is the reason why the GM does not want to hand them too much gear

And really, no amount is high enough for the majority of players. I mean, there are a few exceptions, the players that just enjoy playing in their role and will accept the GMs logic. But mostly, players always want more.

Case in point, my current campaign has a team of corporate black ops. I gave them all a permanent High lifestyle, a fairly limitless access to gear and a fat nuyen budget to play with each month for extra expenses. Are they happy with it? Yeah. Do they still go out on the streets and gamble, fight and steal for more nuyen? Yes.

Its in most players' natures to want more, even when they have it really good. If this campaign takes a few more turns, I could easily see them getting dumped by the corp and the whole feel for the game will be a lot more interesting...they'll actually see how well they had it:)

does one = one dolloar?

Well, there is also the problem that if their characters are completely satisfied and stop running they become NPCs and they don't get to play them any more. Also, I can totally see someone who has been running the shadows for years getting 'restless trigger finger syndrome'. They are built (In some cases very literally) for running the shadows, it is what they are wired to do. It is like soldiers after they come back from war and prisoners who get out of prison after years and years. They just don't feel quite right in their new setting.

No, I think it is a lower exchange rate. I've heard it before, something like 5 is one dollar, but it is hard to compare directly because so many things cost different amounts because of how much supply and demand has changed by 2072. Guns are in huge supply, food is in low supply. Same goes for armor, high supply but high demand as well.

Basically anything that is -made- tends to be cheaper in SR, while anything that is -grown- tends to be more expensive.

I believe you have it backwards. It should be 5 USD in 1989 = 1 nuyen, but I don't have my books with me to verify.

I came out with two-but my methodology has enough holes you could drive truck through.

1 Nuyen = approx $5 UCAS dollars (NEO A's guide to North America)

Cost of Ammo (20 rds of regular rifle ammo)= 40 Nuyen. This is $200 Ucas dollars. CUrrent price of ammo is less than $20 for 20 rds (for some rifle ammo) so I'll use $20.

So $1 US (today) = $10 UCAS dollars =2 Nuyen

Based on that analysis 1 Nuyen = 2 US dollars (adjusted for bullet inflation)

What my take away from all this: you can't compare the cost of goods and services in SR to the cost of goods and services IRL.

Which was basically my point. You can't directly relate the two very easily because so many prices have fluctuated due to supply/demand, advanced manufacturing, limited natural resources, skillwired workforces, automation.

Which makes any cost comparisons meaningless. Also to be factored in is that SR has been around for 20 years.

How the real world compares prices:

Over time:

Over time, you dig out the CPI stats (the US has them since 1913...The UK has them for much longer...) and calculate a given amount of currency that way. It takes some work if you're dealing in multiple currencies, or over significant amounts of time, but it is doable.

Between currencies:

The favorite way to do this is not to use official exchange rates, but instead to use PPP. Purchasing Power Parity. How much of a given currency nets you a certain "basket" of goods. Take, for example, the Big Mac Index popularized by The Economist. It works, roughly.

In Shadowrun, it is impossible to compare currencies. You have no idea what things cost in any currency that you might put into a basket of goods. You have no idea what basic staples cost, for instance.

Fortunately, mostly you don't need to.

What I recommend: 1 is equal to $1 USD as of 1989. Inflate accordingly.

You don't need to keep a track of every single price. Lifestyles have been made for that. Just compare the medium lifestyle to the median salary.

Oh I agree. Your players have it extremely well off, but the going out on the streets and gambling, fighting, and stealing is just something many runners will do. As long as the players are making enough to have nuyen to pursue long-term goals then you're doing a fair job as a GM. If a runner wants to save up for a shiny new piece of cyberware, it should probably only take 2-3 runs to do it, depending on exactly how expensive it is. Any longer than that and the players lose motivation to actually play the game.

Basically, the players just need to be rewarded well enough in-game to maintain their enjoyment and motivation to play out-of-game.