Census Shows Bigger Houses and Incomes, but Not for All
The poor gained little. Following the overhaul of the welfare system six years ago, poverty among single mothers with young children declined. But poverty among all families remained largely unchanged from its 1980 and 1990 levels, an average of 8 percent in the 13 states. To be deemed poor, a family of four in 2000 had an income less than $17,600.

Most women's incomes rose in the decade, but men's stagnated or fell.

"Some people did really well," said Annabel Kirschner, chairwoman of the department of rural sociology at Washington State University in Pullman. "Other people did not." Along with the poor, she said, unskilled workers fared poorly, with wages failing to keep up with the rate of inflation.
http://www.nytimes.com/2002/05/15/national/15CENS.html?todaysheadlines