PROFILE
FROM Chris Arnade
Quitting Wall Street to photograph America's poor Chris Arnade earned a PhD in physics, then made millions on Wall Street as a trader. He quit in 2012 to travel the U.S., photographing poor, neglected neighborhoods. He said he saw a lot more community and dignity there than people typically think, but also more frustration and inequality. Some choose to stay, he points out. “This idea that we should all leave, all get out, why is that our only measure of success? What about a child who stays to be with their family?”
America divided by front-row and back-row Chris Arnade grew up in what he now calls "The Front Row." With a PhD in physics from Johns Hopkins University, he joined Salomon Brothers. But five years ago, in his late 40s, he finally rejected Wall Street values. He took a buyout from Citigroup, and moved his family from Manhattan to upstate New York. Now he's a photo-journalist who travels the country in a 10 year old Honda with a mattress in back… visiting, photographing and talking with folks from "the Back Row."
Sunlight or secrecy: Which would you choose? Three weeks ago, the House passed its Obamacare replacement without any public hearings and before the Congressional Budget Office determined what it would do and what it would cost. Now comes the reality check on the pros and cons : a deficit cut of $119 billion -- leaving 23 million people without health insurance. At first, many Senators said they’d start over from scratch, but now it appears their deliberations will be conducted in secrecy, too. As debate rages over White House connections with Russia, would most Americans rather know what’s next for protecting their health?
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