From todays Times:

"The Big Issue has more than 1 million readers and has given thousands of homeless people the chance to earn money legitimately. but now, after a disastrous launch in America, staff cutbacks and talk of a financial crisis, the magazine faces an uncertain future...
On the streets around Euston station last night, the talk among vendors was anger directed towards john Bird- The Big Issues' founder and and editor- in - chief, who this week confirmed that 6 out of 13 journalists ij cluding the editor are taking redundancy... "Its John Bird that owns it, its him thats getting rid of all the staff. Its all I, I , I with him"

The Times suggests that the failed attempt to 'break' into the USA cost some £250,000, and if so, the question is WHY Mr Bird felt the need to speculate in this way, as if perhaps he was managing a second-rank rock band ? As always, once the profit motive becomes uppermost, the well-being of those the project was set up to benefit will be forgotten. Capitalist methods cannot ultimately succeed.