Conservatively Speaking
State Senator Mary Lazich (R-New Berlin) represents parts of four counties: Milwaukee, Waukesha, Racine, and Walworth. Her Senate District 28 includes New Berlin, Franklin, Greendale, Hales Corners, Muskego, Waterford, Big Bend, the town of Vernon and parts of Greenfield, East Troy, and Mukwonago. Senator Lazich has been in the Legislature for more than a decade. She considers herself a tireless crusader for lower taxes, reduced spending and smaller government.
Thank you, Wisconsin hunters and fishers
Wisconsin owes a tremendous gratitude to our sportsmen, the 1.2 million people who spend more than $3.1 billion a year on hunting and fishing. The impact from this one particular group is significant. Hunters and anglers pump an incredible $8.6 million a day into Wisconsin’s economy.A new report, "Hunting and Fishing: Bright Stars of the American Economy ~ A force as big as all outdoors," was produced by the Congressional Sportsmen's Foundation with support from other hunting and fishing organizations. The findings demonstrate how valuable sportsmen are to Wisconsin:
- Sportsmen support twice as many jobs in Wisconsin as Trane (56,600 jobs vs. 26,200).
- Annual spending by Wisconsin sportsmen is equal to the revenues of the state's dairy industry ($3.1 billion).
- Wisconsin sportsmen annually spend $220 million on outboard boats and engines to get out on the water and around the marshes for fishing and hunting.
- As many people hunt and fish in Wisconsin as attend Milwaukee Bucks and Green Bay Packer games (1.2 million).
- Wisconsin sportsmen outnumber the populations of Milwaukee, Madison, Green Bay, Kenosha, Racine and Appleton (1.2 million vs. 1.1 million).
- The ripple effect from hunting and fishing in Wisconsin is $5 billion
Nationally, the impact is even greater, with hunters and fishers, like lawyers and physicians, comprising one of the most prominent and influential groups in all of America.
Their voting potential amounted to 31 percent of all votes cast in the 2004 Presidential election. An impressive 80 percent of sportsmen are “likely” voters, a powerful voting bloc that cannot be ignored.
As mentioned, hunters and fishers spend, and they spend a lot, more than the revenues of Microsoft, Google eBay and Yahoo combined.
The $76 billion spent by sportsmen, if translated into the Gross Domestic Product of a country would rank sportsmen as number 57 out of 181 countries.
More people hunt and fish than watch the nightly news on ABC, CBS, and NBC.
The state and local tax contributions made by sportsmen would be enough to hire 527,900 police officers, 454,000 firefighters, or 476,870 teachers.
The conclusion is clear: hunters and fishers help drive the economy and create jobs. Hunting and fishing have been an integral part of Wisconsin’s fabric, culture and history. We must do all we can to support, promote and protect this wonderful pastime. We can start by saying to our sportsmen, for all you do, Thank You!
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