The economic prosperity of the 1990s gave a financial boost to Americans who were already doing well, producing fatter paychecks and more college degrees, Census 2000 figures show.

Still, many less-fortunate Americans were unable to escape poverty.

That's the message from the complete state-by-state data taken from long-form questionnaires. The statistics show that poverty rates remained highest in rural towns in the South and Midwest, and incomes stagnated in urban counties in California and the Northeast.

National figures suggest the prosperity before last year's recession was enjoyed mostly by more affluent Americans, "modestly by the middle class, and not very much by persons below the poverty line," said John Logan, a sociologist at the State University of New York at Albany.[/font]

Here's my favorite part - they list the states and their poverty rates for 1989 vs. 1999.

The only states where the percentage below the "poverty line" have [i]increased[/i] (with the exception of Alaska) are those led by liberal democrats.

California, 12.5% to 14.2%
D.C. 16.9% to 20.2%
Maryland 8.3% to 8.9%
Massachussetts 8.9% to 9.3%
New Jersey 7.6% to 8.5%

Oh yeah, "progressive" politics really help "the people."