>Here in NYC I hear both sides of the argument from companies and recruiters. Some are adamant that VFP is less in-demand, and as a result, they offer less $$. But others take the opposite stance -- while demand for VFP certainly is lower than demand for some other languages, they point out, there are also fewer VFP programmers to choose from... so supply is even lower than demand and VFP contractors make more.
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>My own experience in the last few years, at least here in New York, is that the VB rates and VFP rates I've been offered have not differed significantly. Other factors -- type of company, length of contract, etc. -- seem to count for much more. Again, this is just my experience, based on a small sample of about 10 offers/discussions.

Well, the base rule is the hourly rate should be as per the capacity of the consultant. If a consultant charges 100.00$ an hour, that is probably because he knows he worths it and that he could deliver, for example, twice amount of work as anyone with half rate would do, would deliver a successfull project as oppose to a risky delivery for junior consultants, etc. So, there are a lot of factors why someone would charge more. It's not only about experience, in term of years, but about the success of your involvment and what you could bring as additional value within an organization.