Families from Cambria to Lompoc, from Los Osos to Los Alamos are feeling the economic crunch.  We've all grown weary of lost jobs, pay cuts, tuition hikes, home foreclosures and tight family budgets. Seniors are worried, and many feel the need to return to the workforce.  People are looking for leaders who understand that government's role is to energize the economy, not to interfere with it. That means balancing government budgets, reforming the way government does business and understanding that helping small businesses survive and thrive is key to the region's economic recovery.