TAKING STOCK OF THE '90s Americans see patchy progress.

The article presents findings of a study on the comparison between the present status of the U.S. economy and the recession year of 1990. According to 45 percent of respondents, their own families were better off and 21 percent said they were worse off, while 24 percent felt that the average U.S. citizen was worse off and 30 percent said the economy was worse. Among the respondents, 17 percent felt the middle class was doing better and just 20 percent saw improvement among the elderly and 9 percent saw improvement among the poor. No less than 77 percent of respondents felt that high-income families were ahead of the game, while some 53 percent said women were doing better.