Regulation and taxes are like two blades on a pair of scissors cutting holes in the family budget. With dairy products, a federal regulatory cartel acts to keep the prices of milk, cheese, and related products artificially high.

Recently, the recession and other factors have deflated usually high dairy prices to the great benefit of American consumers. The regulatory blade has been temporarily dulled.

But watch out because here comes the tax blade! Congress has decided that taxpaying families should cough up $350 million to pay for a special federal bailout of diary farmers because prices are now “too low.”

The Washington Post argues today that it’s time to rethink federal dairy policies because farmers “have milked taxpayers and consumers long enough.”

Further reading: Dairy policies are not the only way that we are being milked by agricultural regulations.