The Office of Career Services reported that 58.6 percent of Penn State graduates were working in the state as of Fall Semester 1998. Discontent over this number, as well as similar numbers at other universities in the state, Ridge announced "Pennsylvania's Part of You" in an effort to retain more college grads, especially those in technical fields.

Ridge, in a stroke of diabolical genius, decided he could stem the flow of smart kids fleeing Pennsylvania through advertising. The campaign is comprised of a video featuring testimonials from famous Pennsylvanians such as Joe Paterno and Fred "Mister" Rogers. It also works with businesses to run a World Wide Web site listing available technical jobs across the state.

Wow, Tom, what a fiendishly clever plan. What young, ambitious person could turn down living in the Keystone State after being told to stay by none other than Mister Rogers himself?

While keeping college graduates in the state is a noble cause, Ridge's plan will be as effective as General Custer's battle plan at Little Big Horn.

The truth is there is no quick-fix solution to the exodus of college grads from Pennsylvania. The massive advertising campaign might lure a few people back, but it won't fix the problem.

Instead, Ridge needs to take a step back and look at the big picture. Despite a plethora of technical jobs available in the state -- estimates are between 8,000 and 10,000 -- people are still finding work elsewhere. Why is this happening? Before trying to create a solution, understand the problem.

And just how bad is this "problem" anyway? Pennsylvania has the lowest percentage of people living in the state who were born outside of it, fewer than one in five people. In addition, Pennsylvania State Data Center figures estimate the state's population will increase three percent this decade and 5.8 percent between 1990 and 2020.

What about blue-collar workers? About 4.3 percent of the state's population is still jobless. In fact, one of the men who appeared on Ridge's video, Heinz USA CEO Bill Johnson, recently announced plans to layoff 3,000-4,000 employees.

Ridge needs to rethink his plans. Making people want to live in a state takes more than advertising and World Wide Web sites. It takes changing societal trends, and that takes years of work.

Get in touch with reality, Gov. Ridge. "Pennsylvania's Part of You" shouldn't be part of Pennsylvania's budget.