Work in the formal labor market has largely disappeared for most inner-city residents, and high joblessness contributes to crime, family dissolution and welfare.
Liberals trace high joblessness to social structures of race and inequality.
Conservatives point to culturally destructive attitudes, behavior and values. Wilson argues that it is the disappearance of work itself in the inner-city ghetto which is devastating social structures and cultural life alike. In Valuable Employees , one of the most successful job-training programs in the United States. Its fundamental mission is to prepare, train, place and support inner-city residents in securing private sector jobs. It now operates more than 26 programs throughout the United States and one in London, Great Britain.