Matthew Yglesias has a provocative column in Slate in which he suggests that some of the Silicon Valley giants like Apple and Google should move to a place like Cleveland. It’s really an indictment on the Valley, particularly the issue of affordable housing. In many ways, Silicon Valley is no longer hospitable for many people and is only exacerbating the divide between the haves and the have-nots.

Meanwhile, places like Cleveland could thrive and grow a substantial startup community if several larger tech companies made a commitment to the region.

Of course Yglesias is just trying to make a point, and many of these companies have a presence several hours away in Coloumbus, but it’s a point worth noting. The large tech companies will need to start thinking about new ways to expand, as the Valley is getting way too crowded.

This is pretty big news on the national level, as many GP governors have resisted the Medicaid funds. John Kasich will be running for re-election soon, so it’s not too surprising that he went in this direction.

Ohio Gov. John Kasich announced Monday that he will accept the Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act, becoming the fifth Republican governor to embrace the provision of the health care reform law that the Supreme Court made optional.

The governor unveiled the decision as part of his budget proposal.

“We are going to extend Medicaid for the working poor and for those who are jobless trying to find work,” Kasich said at a press conference in Columbus. “It makes great sense for the state of Ohio because it will allow us to provide greater care with our own dollars.”

This makes sense, and only those politicians who are obsessed with partisan politics are resisting these dollars.

Many of us supported the casinos in Ohio, but it’s important to acknowledge that all of the revenue projections used to sell the casino measure to Ohio voters are not being met. Basically, around $1.9 billion per year was projected, while the governor’s new budget has revenues at just around $1.0 billion.

One factor is that the Cleveland casino, which is doing very well, was projected to be much bigger. There will be a phase II, however, so that could definitely help the numbers.

The Mitt Romney campaign is arguing that they will win Ohio despite the polls, but it’s hard to believe them given the desperate Jeep ads Romney has been running. The Toledo Blade is one of many news organizations slamming the ads, and they offered up a scathing editorial.

In the fi­nal few days of the pres­i­den­tial con­test, Mitt Rom­ney ev­i­dently rec­og­nizes that his op­po­si­tion to the fed­eral res­cue of Gen­eral Mo­tors and Chrysler is costing him voter sup­port he needs in Ohio and Mich­i­gan. So the Re­pub­li­can nom­i­nee is con­duct­ing an ex­er­cise in de­cep­tion about auto-in­dus­try is­sues that is re­mark­able even by the stan­dards of his cam­paign.

At an ap­pear­ance last week in De­fi­ance, Mr. Rom­ney an­nounced that “Jeep, now owned by the Ital­ians, is think­ing of mov­ing all pro­duc­tion to China.” That as­ser­tion was based on an am­big­u­ously worded news re­port.

Chrysler, which owns Jeep and in which the Ital­ian auto­maker Fiat has a ma­jor­ity stake, quickly de­nied the re­port. A com­pany spokes­man said Mr. Rom­ney’s rhe­tor­i­cal leap “would be dif­fi­cult even for pro­fes­sional cir­cus ac­ro­bats.” But the Rom­ney cam­paign launched an ad in Ohio that claimed that Pres­i­dent Obama, who pre­sided over the auto bail­out, “sold Chrysler to Ital­ians who are go­ing to build Jeeps in China.”

Chrysler CEO Ser­gio Mar­chionne re­moved all doubt about his com­pany’s in­ten­tions this week in an email to em­ploy­ees: “Jeep pro­duc­tion will not be moved from the United States to China,” he said. “Jeep as­sem­bly lines will re­main in op­er­a­tion in the United States and will con­sti­tute the back­bone of the brand. It is in­ac­cu­rate to sug­gest any­thing dif­fer­ent.”

The ads seem to be backfiring. Voters in Ohio aren’t stupid. They follow the auto industry and they know a lie when they hear one.

The economy is doing much better in Ohio as compared to the rest of the nation, as unemployment is substantially lower at 7%. This is the result of many factors, but the success of the auto bailout is definitely one of the reasons, and that is helping President Obama’s campaign in this important state. But another important factor has to do with fracking, as natural gas drilling is booming in Ohio, and that’s driving a ton of economic activity in industries like steel.

This economic activity and the resurgence of manufacturing is also creating opportunities for entrepreneurs, as more jobs lead to a great need for more services. So all sorts of small businesses can thrive if the manufacturing and fracking boom continues. Bars, restaurants, suppliers, drycleaners – the possibilities are endless. There are many factors, however, to consider. Think about location, as not every part of the state is thriving. There are opportunities in older areas of course, but the approach is much different in those areas. In thriving areas you’ll pay more for rent, but in a growing community this is worth it if you have the startup capital. Also, make sure you have an intelligent marketing strategy. Should you be using social media? Should you be printing your marketing materials, and should you be browsing options like brochure printing to save money? Are TV and radio an option? Many entrepreneurs don’t think through their marketing budgets in advance, so don’t make that mistake.

The key is that these are exciting times in Ohio. Hopefully the trends continue.