Around this time last year, I wrote about some emerging warning signs for the U.S. economy. Now, those signs that the United States is heading toward an economic downturn are becoming more frequent. In the last few weeks, we’ve learned that the labor market added 900,000 fewer jobs than initially thought, Black unemployment is now the highest since COVID, and there are more job seekers than openings across the economy. While these data are not conclusive of a recession, it’s clear that more people are out of work, struggling, and financially anxious today than they were a year ago.

This context makes a new SPSSI policy project unfortunately timely. Supported by APA funding, SPSSI is spearheading a collaborative writing project with nine other APA divisions and psychology associations. Across a series of issue briefs, participating authors apply the latest psychological science to the issue of economic inequality and hardship in the United States as it relates to their division’s unique sphere of expertise. Each brief ends with actionable policy recommendations for readers to consider.

These recommendations include raising the minimum wage, guaranteed income expansions, funding for medical-legal partnerships, expanded early-intervention strategies, and more. In some instances, authors are approaching old debates with new evidence. In others, they are applying novel solutions to long-standing problems. The result is a comprehensive set of concrete policy recommendations, backed by science, to alleviate the material and psychological harm posed by poverty and inequality.

We had the opportunity to announce this project at the 2025 SPSSI Summer Conference in Portland, where Dr. Heather Bullock, SPSSI Past-President; Dr. Kipp Pietrantonio, representative of the Psychology of Social Class Organization (POSCO); Dr. Emily Hentschke, 2024–2025 SPSSI Marshall Fellow; and I hosted a symposium titled "Advancing Economic Justice with Psychological Science."

Psychology and psychological evidence are too often absent from economic policy conversations, where other social sciences, including economics and sociology, have staked a larger claim. During this symposium and in the immediate aftermath, we spoke with many conference attendees who wanted to see that change. Upon the publication of this volume, project representatives will travel to Capitol Hill to brief policymakers on our evidence and ideas. Members of participating divisions will be able to use these materials in their own advocacy with local, state, and federal policymakers.

Those involved in this effort are realistic about the political viability of some of these recommendations, at least in the short term. Policymaking is something that happens slowly, and then all at once. Introducing these ideas and evidence now allows them to gradually socialize and mature within the policy community, so that when the window of opportunity does open, policymakers can quickly select them from a menu of well-considered options.

The recent economic news reminds us that too many are struggling with the ongoing physical and psychological stress of poverty here in the U.S. and around the world. Should broader economic conditions deteriorate further, policymakers may find themselves looking for new ideas to jumpstart the economy and ease their constituents’ challenges. With projects like this, psychology can be there to provide the frameworks, evidence, and ideas they need in these uncertain moments.

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