Is the economy improving? Ask 10 people, and you’ll likely get a wide variety of responses. What everyone can agree on though, is this — cash matters.

Selling in a broad swath of industries is arguably more difficult today than at any time in the last half-century. No matter what the optimists may say, competition for customers is horrendous. Ask any salesperson. As one said recently, “I have never seen anything like it.”

On Aug. 10, the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) honored me with its 2010 “Guardian of Small Business” award. This is the most prestigious honor that the NFIB gives legislators in recognition of their efforts to support small businesses and champion the issues important to the organization.

Even the most self-assured and stoic among us feel the intensity of the times. The economic recovery seems quite elastic at best. Today’s good news can disappear as quickly as it appeared.

Anyone who saw the 2002 hit movie “Spider-Man” probably remembers the scene where Uncle Ben, dying in the street, whispers a piece of wisdom to young Peter Parker: “With great power comes great responsibility.”