The plan to bailout the financial services industry has now become a plan to invest in it.  The President, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, and Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke announced a new plan yesterday, not to buy distressed assets, but to buy shares in distressed banks.

It’s a little bit of a stretch.  The bailout bills said the Treasury Secretary could “purchase, and [] make and fund commitments to purchase, troubled assets from any financial institution.” Now, we’re talking about buying pieces of the financial institutions themselves.

Whatever the case, you’re investing in the financial services industry, through your federal government.

If you’re a man, woman, or child - and chances are good that you are - you’re plunking down about $375. If your family is average - and it’s not; it’s very special - $990 is the size of your bet.

This AP article has some of the details. This Business Week article has others. But basically:

- JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup, and Bank of America are each going to receive $25 billion apiece in exchange for shares of stock they give the government. That makes you and every other man, woman, and child in the United States an investor in each of these companies to the tune of about $80, which is about $250 per average family. Total: $240/$750

- Wells Fargo is supposed to get between $20 billion and $25 billion: That’s $65-$80 per person/$200-$250 per family.

- Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley should take $10 billion each, which is $30 per person, $100 per family. Total: $60/$200

- The Bank of New York and State Street Bank should get $2 billion to $3 billion apiece. Total: $12-20 per person/$40-$60 per family.

So there you have it: Every American just plunked down about $375 on the stock market, and every family about $990. In the risky financial services sector. It doesn’t matter much whether you think that’s a good idea. You don’t have any control over it - unless you’re going to be a voter in November.