Rich and poor in San Diego speak out on wealth gap

Friday, October 5, 2012 - 12:00 David McNew/Getty Images A volunteer gives a needy people a monthly food handout at a food bank near San Diego. Residents of San Diego's wealthiest and poorest neighborhoods reflect on opportunity, responsibility and the American Dream. There’s more than one house on the gated property Bob Shillman lives on -- in Rancho Santa Fe, a San Diego suburb that is one of the richest communities in America. Shillman’s main house is a mansion of stone floors, plush furnishings and soaring windows. In person, Shillman is clever and boisterous. And he makes no apologies for his opulent surroundings. He says he earned it. “The people that I know, and I know many businessmen, they were not handed things,” said Shillman. “They  did  build this. I built this company. I profited, my investors profited, and all my employees.” America is not supposed to be class-based society. But we have always had the rich and the poor, and the gap between them is growing. The ...

america american apology aristotle bob boston california charity childhood city cognex community concentration corp corporation david definition diegan diego education election entrepreneurship fudge getty images government hafsa heights immigration kathleen krantz madness mansion marianne marketplace mcdonald mcnew mobility mohamed neighborhood obscenity opportunity oregon questions rancho reality regulations responsibility retirement san santa securities shillman somalian statement tom type unemployment university unlike zenith