The Globe and Mail reports in its Friday, July 6, edition that economic policies that emerge from a populist government are likely to have negative consequences for many voters and businesses -- including those that may initially be supporters. The Globe's guest columnist Glen Hodgson (senior fellow at the Conference Board of Canada) writes that a populist agenda usually starts with criticism of existing government expenditures. Tax reductions are promised. Tax cuts are sold to voters as the secret ingredient to send economic growth soaring. The likely consequences of protectionist trade policy in the short term are tariff-driven price increases for U.S. consumers and businesses, and countertariffs from trade partners that will frustrate U.S. exporters' access to other markets. Individual voters will likely warm to personal tax cuts, but these could be offset by higher prices for consumer goods as a result of tariffs on imports, as well as the prospect of eventual reductions in public spending. Financial markets and individual businesses might be initially enthused by lower taxes, but can become skittish as the effects and consequences of populist trade and economic policies become more evident.