Making Sense of the Census

The U.S. Census Bureau last week reported new figures on income, occupation, immigration and other demographic issues covered by its year 2000 long-form questionnaire. But depending on which newspaper you read, you got a very different picture of how the nation fared in the 1990s.

--THE NEW YORK TIMES headlined its downbeat Page One story GAINS OF '90S DID NOT LIFT ALL, CENSUS SHOWS. The story cited data indicating that 9.2% of families were deemed poor in 2000, only a slight improvement from 10% in 1989, despite the decade's surging economy. Huge growth in immigration paralleled the economic gains, the paper...