People were actually getting poorer than their parents, and sometimes even poorer than their grandparents had been.
یعنی در آن زمان مردم حتی از نسل قبلی (پدر و مادر)شان یا نسل قبل تر(پدربزرگ و مادربزرگ) شان فقیرتر می‌شدند.