Bondsmen: Real estate not the bailout it used to be

Add this to the insults to the American way of life that the housing bust has caused: It's made it harder for some people to post bail.

The Wall Street Journal recently reported that bail bondsmen in areas where large numbers of homes have underwater mortgages have turned their backs on their longstanding practice of accepting homes as collateral. Some, instead, have opted for long-term payment plans for incarcerated types whose houses are no longer desirable markers.

"I've got better luck winning the lottery than I would finding someone with a home up for collateral that actually has value to it," a Modesto, Calif., bondsman told the Journal.

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