They said Irish and Italians weren't considered "white" at the time...

That isn't the 1990s which is the period referred to in OPs post.

But whatever racial/ethnic group you're talking about, they were better off economically in the 1990s than the 2020s.

So whatever they were saying, was wrong. It's just a matter of how they're wrong depending on what they meant. We won't know what they meant till they clarify.

So I have no idea why you rushed to make an uninformed "joke" like you did.

But the more you type, the less productive this looks like it'll be.