Michael Madowitz
United States, Washington, D.C.
As seen in:
Medium,
NBC News,
MarketWatch,
Taylor & Francis Online,
Fox Business,
MS NOW,
Yahoo,
Barron's,
WBUR-FM (Boston, MA),
Center for American Progress
and
Principal Economist @RooseveltInst, @RooseveltFwd Used to love this place This = me+β(no_sleep)+ε
Is this you? As a journalist, you can create a free Muck Rack account to customize your profile, list your contact preferences, and upload a portfolio of your best work.
Claim your profile
Articles by Michael Madowitz
Young Men Are Not the Ones Struggling in the Post-2024 Job Market
There is a well-worn narrative about young men’s struggles in the modern economy. But recent data inverts this picture. The struggle is strongest not for male youth, but for a wide swath of Men of a Certain Age, particularly in the 35–64 age range. The household jobs data since January 2025 show that, while men ages 65 and over have had the largest employment gains among their gender, the only other cohort of men to show positive job growth through August is 20–24 year olds.
September’s Jobs Data Will Reveal How Worried We Should Be About the Economy
What we know right now: The job market isn’t bad, but it’s not good either. Some indicators, like weekly unemployment insurance claims, don’t show the job market weakening. But the more comprehensive monthly Employment Situation report reveals what looks like a trend of workers paying a price for the Iran war—beyond inflation. And, the preliminary benchmark revisions suggest the job market was marginally weaker than we thought through this March.
We Don’t Have to Import Inflation: Policy Lessons from the Strait of Hormuz and Ukraine Supply Crises
Inflation has posed a destabilizing risk to both economies and democratic institutions, as shown in this decade through the closure of the Strait of Hormuz and the supply shocks resulting from the invasion of Ukraine. Progressive policymakers must develop more proactive approaches than the limited, reactive tool kit central bankers have at their disposal to prevent inflation shocks.
Our Surprisingly Resilient Economy Could Use Some Backup from Policymakers
Welcome to the second half of 2026! The US economy has been weird in the first half of the year, but it’s been mostly a good weird. Despite a war that has zapped growth forecasts and raised costs across the world—and own goals like cutting immigration and scientific research, and tariff-ing ourselves again—the job market is probably doing slightly better than last year. Why probably? Because the jobs data is a bit murky, again.
Saving Democracy Requires Taxing Extreme Wealth
If lawmakers are serious about addressing the threat that dynastic wealth poses to American democracy, they can draw on considerable research that has gone into designing a wealth tax that avoids the pitfalls of other countries’ attempts. With the appearance of the world’s first trillionaire, there is no time to waste. WASHINGTON, DC—Following SpaceX’s IPO in June, Elon Musk briefly became the world’s first trillionaire, making him wealthier than the poorest 46% of the world’s people combined.
Opinion | Trump fired the labor statistics chief and the markets shrugged. That’s concerning. Original
President Donald Trump’s firing of Bureau of Labor Statistics Commissioner Erika McEntarfer — a widely respected economist whom 86 senators voted to confirm to the position just last year — was a dangerous signal from the Trump administration. Independent data and those who steward it may no longer be insulated from political score settling. Economists and statisticians of all backgrounds — from left, right and center, academic to industry — denounced the firing.
U.S. Hiring Slows, But Employers Added 139,000 Jobs in May
U.S. employers slowed hiring last month, but still added a solid 139,000 jobs amid uncertainty over President Trump's trade wars. Employment in leisure and hospitality continued to trend up in May, adding 48,000 jobs. Over the prior 12 months, leisure and hospitality had added an average of 20,000 jobs per month. Hiring fell from a revised 147,000 in April, the Department of Labor said Friday. The job gains last month were slightly higher than the 130,000 economists had forecast.
Tariffs Are Bad. These Looming Issues Could Be Much Worse.
About the author: Michael Madowitz is the principal economist at the Roosevelt Institute.
Opinion: Softening Tariffs Won’t Be Enough to Rescue the Economy
Published: May 19, 2025 at 8:26 a.m. ET President Donald Trump’s trade officials negotiated a 90-day reduction in tariffs against China in Switzerland last week. Photo: Andrew Harnik/Getty Images About the author: Michael Madowitz is the principal economist at the Roosevelt Institute. Last week in Geneva, the Trump administration made its best move on economic policy yet: It found itself in a hole on tariff policy and stopped digging—or at least started digging more slowly.
#JobsDay Preview: Will March Jobs Data Confirm or Refute Increasingly Pessimistic Sentiments About the Economy?
Amid an unusually large disconnect between hard and soft data on the economy, the March jobs report (which will be released Friday, April 4 at 8:30 am ET) will be closely watched for signs of how well the economy is holding up under the strains the Trump administration continues to place on it.
Why Economic Data Revisions Mean Better Statistics
Friday is Jobs Day, and it will be weird. On February 7, we will get the first Employment Situation release of the Trump administration, reporting the last data from the Biden administration. The Labor Department uses two different surveys—one of households and one of businesses—to report the real-time health of the job market each month, and we will also get significant revisions to data from the past year in the business survey.
Benchmarking the U.S. economy that President Donald Trump is set to inherit
When President Donald Trump takes the presidential oath of office again on January 20, he will be inheriting a very different economy, with a very different outlook, than the one he left for President Joe Biden four years ago. Almost immediately after President Trump’s inauguration next week, important questions will arise about how to measure the success of the U.S. economy and the effect of the new administration’s economic policy interventions.
If Deficit Hawks Are Having a Broken Clock Moment, It's Time to Tax the Wealthy
With inflation on the wane and the first round of interest rate cuts underway, the US is officially entering the next—and possibly most important—hypothesis test of the COVID recovery: Are higher interest rates here to stay? With the Fed cutting rates, you’re about to hear a lot more about neutral interest rates and r* (the long-term interest rate, the main tool the Fed uses to achieve its dual mandate for stable prices and maximum employment).
Roosevelt Institute Welcomes Michael Madowitz as New Principal Economist
New York, NY—In a critical election year where progressive economic ideas are on the ballot, the Roosevelt Institute is pleased to announce that Michael Madowitz has joined the organization to lead its economic research in the new role of principal economist. As principal economist, Madowitz will work with Roosevelt’s issue-area experts to develop research and strategy with the goal of driving a long-term paradigm change in our economy.
New labor market data suggest that U.S. wage growth may be cooling too much
After increasing rapidly over the course of 2021, nominal wage growth (before accounting for inflation) in the United States has been trending down consistently across measures since early- to mid-2022. This has generally been regarded as a positive development because inflation also increased rapidly in 2021, and slowing nominal wage growth tends to reduce upward pressure on prices. This reduced pressure may have contributed to the slowdown in inflation also seen since early- to mid-2022.
What is going on with wage growth in the United States?
Fast wage growth is a key feature of a strong labor market. U.S. workers, and low-wage workers in particular, experienced exceptional wage growth over the past couple of years, which not only improved workers’ lives but also notably reduced wage inequality. There are various ways that economists and policymakers measure U.S. wages, each capturing wage growth from different angles and influenced by different factors.
How the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021 is promoting sustainable U.S. economic growth and mitigating climate change
In an issue brief earlier this year, Equitable Growth discussed how the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021 rests on sound economic principles and analyzed the ways that its $1.2 trillion in government investments helps address urgent and immediate economic needs. But it’s also crucial to reflect on the ways the law establishes a path for addressing long-term economic and climate needs.
More than Solidarity
Unstable employment and stagnant wages characterized the labor market participation of Latino workers throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. These trends reflect long-standing workforce inequities. Historically, Latinos are more likely than non-Latino whites to have jobs with low wages, minimal benefits, and unstable employment.
Income or Wealth: What Did the 2020 Stimulus Mean for People’s Happiness and Why It Matters?
Reprints and Corporate Permissions Please note: Selecting permissions does not provide access to the full text of the article, please see our help page How do I view content? To request a reprint or corporate permissions for this article, please click on the relevant link below: Academic Permissions Please note: Selecting permissions does not provide access to the full text of the article, please see our help page How do I view content?
National Advisory Council on Eliminating the Black-White Wealth Gap
Centering Racial Equity in a New Administration With a new administration set to lead the U.S. federal government, and in the midst of a pandemic that has exposed the many layers of racial inequality in this country, it is time to finally put infrastructure in place to achieve equity for Black Americans and communities of color.
Public Work Provides Economic Security for Black Families and Communities
This issue brief is a product of CAP’s National Advisory Council on Eliminating the Black-White Wealth Gap. Public sector work has been a rare source of opportunity and security for African Americans in the U.S. economy for generations.
The Shambolic Response to the Public Health and Economic Crisis Has Women on the Brink as the Job Recovery Stalls
The U.S. economy has been dismal across the board in 2020, but it has been particularly dismal for American women. For the first time since 1964—the advent of modern U.S. employment statistics for women—this economic downturn, which began in February, has seen women lose jobs at a higher rate than men. Women’s employment and labor force participation rates have both fallen to levels not seen since 1986. When Dr. C.
Shaun Harrison - Equitable Growth
Skip to content Shaun Harrison is a research assistant at the Washington Center for Equitable Growth. Prior to joining Equitable Growth, Shaun was a freelance writer and academic editor, focusing on book manuscripts and public scholarship. He was previously a research associate for Dr. Michelle Holder, leading her speechwriting, managing her content portfolio, and advising her on external communications.
The Fed’s Oil and Gas Bailout Is a Mistake
By Gregg Gelzinis, Michael Madowitz, and Divya Vijay July 31, 2020, 12:01 am Introduction and summary The coronavirus pandemic and the necessary public health response have significantly decreased U.S. economic activity, placing a severe financial strain on businesses and households. More than 30 million people were receiving unemployment assistance at the end of June, and gross domestic product (GDP) may have declined by more than 30 percent in the second quarter of 2020.
Same-Sex Couples Experience Higher Unemployment Rates Throughout an Economic Recovery
Communities that have long experienced structural inequality in the United States are now also being hit harder by the economic downturn caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. People of color, women, LGBTQ people, and groups living at the intersections of those identities encounter systemic factors that lead them to work in industries with low job security and employment without paid leave, making recovery during a pandemic significantly more challenging.
A Coronavirus Recovery Demands Substantial, Durable Aid for State and Local Governments
Authors’ note: Throughout this column, we use “state and local governments” as shorthand to refer to all states, municipalities, territories, and tribal governments. As Congress prepares to debate a fourth coronavirus response package, a crucial concern is whether policymakers have learned a key lesson of the Great Recession—that robust, timely, and durable aid to state and local governments is critical to limiting the size and scale of recessions and fostering a strong recovery.
Social Distancing To Fight the Coronavirus Saves Lives and Preserves the U.S. Economy
In the midst of an exponentially rising global coronavirus pandemic, the Trump administration—after first denying the severity of the crisis and then reacting too slowly and haphazardly—remains eager to relax measures that have belatedly been put in place to limit its effects. The rationale for the administration’s stance is purported to be purely economic, based on a claim that the economic consequences of social distancing and other life-saving measures are just too high.
Pro/Con: Do federal taxes need to be increased? Yes, let's tax the rich again
Columns Written By: Michael Madowitz | Nov 29th 2019 - 2pm. We’ve been cutting taxes on the wealthy for two generations, and the results have been dismal. Economists, who started as generally supportive of the tax-cut experiment, have seen enough. By 2017, only 2 percent of the University of Chicago’s Economics Expert Panel agreed the Trump tax cuts would lead to faster economic growth. The 98 percent were right.
Michael Madowitz: Should federal taxes be increased? Yes
We've been cutting taxes on the wealthy for two generations, and the results have been dismal. Economists, who started as generally supportive of the tax cut experiment, have seen enough. By 2017, only 2% of the University of Chicago's economics expert panel agreed the Trump tax cuts would lead to faster economic growth. The other 98% were right. The economy is growing slower, and budget deficits are rising faster than tax-cutters promised.
PRO: Yes, it’s time to try a new approach
We’ve been cutting taxes on the wealthy for two generations, and the results have been dismal. Economists, who started as generally supportive of the tax cut experiment, have seen enough. By 2017, only 2% of the University of Chicago’s Economics Expert Panel agreed the Trump tax cuts would lead to faster economic growth. The 98% were right. The economy is growing slower, and budget deficits are rising faster than tax-cutters promised.
FORUM 1: The wealthy need to pay more taxes
WE’VE been cutting taxes on the wealthy for two generations, and the results have been dismal. Economists, who started as generally supportive of the tax cut experiment, have seen enough. By 2017, only 2 percent of the University of Chicago’s Economics Expert Panel agreed the Trump tax cuts would lead to faster economic growth. The 98 percent were right. The economy is growing slower, and budget deficits are rising faster than tax-cutters promised.
Counterpoint: Yes, It’s Time to Try a New Approach – InsideSources
Editor’s Note: For another viewpoint see No, Federal Taxes Are Too High We’ve been cutting taxes on the wealthy for two generations, and the results have been dismal. Economists, who started as generally supportive of the tax cut experiment, have seen enough. By 2017, only 2 percent of the University of Chicago’s Economics Expert Panel agreed the Trump tax cuts would lead to faster economic growth. The 98 percent were right.
Madowitz: Should federal taxes be increased? Yes
We've been cutting taxes on the wealthy for two generations, and the results have been dismal. Economists, who started as generally supportive of the tax cut experiment, have seen enough. By 2017, only 2% of the University of Chicago's economics expert panel agreed the Trump tax cuts would lead to faster economic growth. The other 98% were right. The economy is growing slower, and budget deficits are rising faster than tax-cutters promised.
Pro-Con debate: Should federal taxes be increased? Yes, it’s time to try a new approach
By Michael Madowitz, Tribune News Service Friday Oct 18, 2019 at 1:13 PM We’ve been cutting taxes on the wealthy for two generations, and the results have been dismal. Economists, who started as generally supportive of the tax cut experiment, have seen enough. By 2017, only 2 percent of the University of Chicago’s Economics Expert Panel agreed the Trump tax cuts would lead to faster economic growth. The 98 percent were right.
Trump’s Corporate Tax Cut Is Not Trickling Down
Two years ago, President Donald Trump and Republicans in Congress cut the corporate tax rate from 35 percent to 21 percent via the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 (TCJA). At the time, the Trump administration claimed that its corporate tax cuts would increase the average household income in the United States by $4,000. But two years later, there is little indication that the tax cut is even beginning to trickle down in the ways its proponents claimed.
Trump’s Corporate Tax Cut Is Not Trickling Down
Two years ago, President Donald Trump and Republicans in Congress cut the corporate tax rate from 35 percent to 21 percent via the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 (TCJA). At the time, the Trump administration claimed that its corporate tax cuts would increase the average household income in the United States by $4,000. But two years later, there is little indication that the tax cut is even beginning to trickle down in the ways its proponents claimed.
The Importance of Automatic Stabilizers in the Next Recession
The United States is experiencing one of the longest periods of economic expansion in its history, but downturns are difficult to predict, giving policymakers reason to worry about whether the country is prepared for the next recession. Automatic stabilizers—policy features that automatically expand spending or reduce tax receipts during economic downturns in order to inject stimulus—helped reduce the severity of the Great Recession a decade ago.
Calculating the Hidden Cost of Interrupting a Career for Child Care
Endnotes and citations are available in the PDF and Scribd versions. See also: Interactive: The Hidden Cost of a Failing Child Care System The child care affordability crisis in the United States can be summed up in two sentences.
Too Hot to Handle
Endnotes and citations are available in the PDF and Scribd versions. This report contains a correction. In the American West, catastrophic wildfires have grown increasingly frequent, damaging, and dangerous. In the first nine months of 2015, wildfires burned more than 9 million acres of land in the region—an area more than four times larger than Yellowstone National Park.
The State of the U.S. Labor Market: Pre-January 2019 Jobs Release
This column contains a correction. This Friday, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) will release employment data for January—the first release of 2019—marking two years since President Donald Trump took office. The data will be released just after the end of the longest government shutdown in U.S. history.
The State of the Labor Market for Latinas: Pre-October Jobs Day Release
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics will release its monthly report with October’s jobs numbers on Friday, one day after Latina Equal Pay Day. Latinas—those with Hispanic origin in the Current Population Survey—experience one of the largest gender wage gaps among all women: Hispanic women who work full time, year-round earn just 53 cents for every dollar earned by white, non-Hispanic men also working full time, year-round.
The State of Youth in the U.S. Labor Market: Pre-September 2018 Jobs Day Release
Though the number of unemployed youth has inched down to below prerecession rates, many other indicators suggest that the employment situation for American youth is not so rosy. Though they’re the most educated compared with previous generations, 1 in 5 American adults ages 18 through 34 has student loan debt.
Under President Trump, Workers Continue to Struggle
Positive measures of unemployment and gross domestic product (GDP), such as those repeatedly touted by the Trump administration, show the kind of strong economy that ordinarily leads voters to reward incumbents of the party in power. However, a range of other economic indicators suggest that many Americans are still struggling, indicating that voters may in fact punish those incumbents in the midterm elections.
Federal Coal Leasing in the Powder River Basin
This issue brief contains corrections. The Powder River Basin, stretching across southeast Montana and northeast Wyoming, produces more coal than any other region in the United States.
GDP Is Growing, but Workers’ Wages Aren’t
President Donald Trump recently said that the U.S. economy is “stronger than ever before” and points to his tax plan as one of the major reasons why. But the fact is that workers are not getting ahead in the Trump economy. Official data released in recent weeks have shown that workers’ wages are flat or even slightly down, in real terms, over the last year. These data fly in the face of many tax plan boosters who have claimed that the bill’s passage has already been a boon to middle-class workers.
The State of the LGBTQ Community in the Labor Market: Pre-June 2018 Jobs Day Release
Tomorrow, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics will release its employment numbers for the month of June, which is National LGBTQ Pride Month. Since the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that same-sex couples have a constitutional right to marry in 2015, support for marriage equality in the United States has continued to grow among the public. However, LGBTQ people are still susceptible to discrimination in many areas of life and experience poverty at higher rates compared with their non-LGBTQ peers.
The State of the U.S. Labor Market: Pre-December 2017 Jobs Release - Center for American Progress
On Friday, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics will release its Employment Situation Summary for the month of December. Since the employment recovery began in February 2010, the U.S. economy has added more than 17 million jobs, and the steady tightening of the labor market has finally started to deliver some modest wage growth for workers, with wages increasing 2.3 percent over the past year.
Will Trump pick a Fed chair who would undermine his agenda?
The list of potential Federal Reserve chairs keeps shrinking, but the choice is increasingly between the status quo and a pick who undercuts candidate Trump’s populist claims on trade. It takes some mental gymnastics to argue the administration shouldn’t just do what every president since Ronald Reagan has done: reappoint the chair — Janet Yellen. But, given the Trump presidency to date, prediction markets can be forgiven for betting on mental gymnastics. So what do the gymnastics look like?
A new Fed head would expose Trump's empty promises on trade
President Trump spent much of his 2016 campaign shouting about the dangers of Chinese currency manipulation leading to trade deficits and U.S. job losses in manufacturing. He promised to take action. To date, he has taken no visible action against China over its currency policy.
Why you should be telling your coworkers how much money you make
Get the Better newsletter. Oct. 18, 2017 / 9:44 PM GMT / Updated Oct. 18, 2017 / 9:44 PM GMT By Nicole Audrey “How much do you make”? This is a question that has historically been deemed risky, if not downright rude, to ask your colleagues.
Show More
loading
Actions
Is this you?
As a journalist, you can create a free Muck Rack account to customize your profile, list your contact preferences, and upload a portfolio of your best work.Get in touch with Michael
Contact Michael, search articles and posts on X, monitor coverage, and track replies from one place.
Learn more about Muck Rack