This article was taken from "http://migop.blogs.com" and was written by Saul Anuzis.

I heard Gov. Jennifer Granholm on WJR's Paul W. Smith show this morning poking fun at Indiana's billboard campaign to recruit Michigan's jobs and residents.

Compare the economic performance posted by Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels, a Republican, to what Granholm's done, and you wonder where the punch line is.

Like Michigan, Indiana is a manufacturing state, heavily dependent on the automotive industry.

Yet Indiana's unemployment rate is 4.6 percent, below the national average, while Michigan's is 7.2 percent, the highest in the nation.

Manufacturing employment dropped 5.9 percent in Michigan over the past year; the decline in Indiana was 1.8 percent.

Both states suffered a drop in new housing starts, but in Indiana, the decrease was 8.6 percent, compared to 31.7 percent in Michigan. Over the last decade, Indiana has had an 8.1 percent gain in population, compared to 2.9 percent in Michigan. Last year, Indiana continued to gain residents -- .7 percent -- while Michigan dropped by .3 percent.

The poverty rate is lower in Indiana; the return on federal tax dollars is higher.

And the tax burden in Indiana is nearly $500 less per resident.

Indiana has good reason to see Michigan as a fertile recruiting ground.