New U. S. Census bureau data show that during the first year of Bill Clinton's presidency, the rich got richer and the poor got poorer.

• The average income of the top 5 percent of families rose by $17,304, or 11 percent, in 1993.

• The income in all three bottom fifths of families fell.

• The median income among all families fell by 1.9 percent, from $37,668 to $36,959.

The increase in income inequality was greater in the first year of the Clinton administration than in any year of the Reagan administration. The share of aggregate income going to those with the highest incomes is higher today, and the share going to those with the lowest incomes is lower, than at any other time since World War II.

• The share going to the top 20 percent of families increased from 46.9 percent in 1992 to 48.2 percent in 1993.

• Meanwhile, the share of income of the bottom fifth fell from 3.8 percent to 3.6 percent.

Families and individuals do move between quintiles over the years, so changes in the average income levels do not necessarily reflect the changing economic well-being of those only temporarily in one quintile or another.

Source: Christopher Frenze, "Middle-Class Income Declines in Clinton's First Year," Economic Policy Update, October 18, 1994, House Republican Caucus, Joint Economic Committee.