Dealing with compensation for work (homeless edition)

Walking around Cambridge, you are bound to encounter people dressed in torn clothes selling the "Big Issue" on countless street corners. For the past 8 weeks I have pondered at whether anyone would ever buy the magazine the people were selling, and how the business is sustainable. Well at dinner, one of the Cambridge students explained to me that the "Big Issue" venture is actually a way for homeless people to retain their dignity by selling a magazine rather than begging. Instead of relevant news, the magazine is filled with short stories, poems, and other literary works of the homeless population. By selling these magazines, the homeless people retain a considerable percentage of the profits. When the locals buy these magazines, they are conscious to the fact that they are in a way "donating" money to these homeless individuals, but receive a tangible product in return. Isn't this interesting? Before I leave Cambridge, I plan to purchase a Big Issue and satiate my desire to help these people as well as have some good reading material while on the toilet.
My question is: Would this work in the states? I doubt it due to barriers of entry that include Americans' preference to drive, perhaps a desire to give without receiving anything, ruthless competition that may exist among the homeless individuals. Without this "Big Issue" venture established as precedent in the states, homeless individuals might react to this idea as idiotic due to the possible higher expected outcome from just begging and no costs of production (printing the magazines, dispersing them, etc). However, the question that remains is how much a person's dignity to refrain from begging is worth in terms of dollars. If this can be figured out (come on econometricians!), then perhaps this venture might work in the states. Purely speculative, but hey you never know!
Cheers!

Update:
When I went to Northern California with some church friends, I was approached by a ragged looking man with a roll of newspapers under his arm. As he was pitching to sell me one, I immediately realized I was buying an American version of the Big Issue! I purchased two, one for me and one for my friend Nikhil who I would see later. As I read through the paper, fond memories of Cambridge entered my mind and I was at peace.