I wouldn’t classify myself a gambling man. Sure, I’ve placed a good-natured bet with friends before, but to me those don’t count. Wagering just how badly Paris Hilton’s debut reggae CD is going to suck isn’t exactly a game of chance, is it? I mean, everyone can pretty much put money down for some high level of expected stink to drift from the stereo speakers when radio stations start playing that crap and come out a few bucks ahead. It’s a “can’t lose” stake, boys and girls, a sure fire winner.

When it comes to bureaucrats, though, all bets are off. And if you work for a casino or state agency in New Jersey, that means you’re off too. Off work without pay, that is.

It shouldn’t surprise the American public that a state government has again gotten in the way of efficiency and negatively affected the lives of thousands of hard working people. If you’ve ever cast a vote for a political candidate, chances are you have knowingly helped construct another speed bump on the road to democratic progress. This is just a fact of life here in this country. Politicians pass laws with about as much ease as the average woman in a department store with shoes and handbags marked off 60 percent.

I’ve been aware of this for as long as I can remember, primarily because my parents kept the television on to the news instead of tuning in to cartoons like I begged them to, night after night when dinner was finished. Thanks, Mom and Dad. Because of you, I have absolutely no faith in our political system. I say this in all sincerity.

This knowledge isn’t a bad thing in the least. Being jaded and cynical was necessary yesterday morning when I heard what a mess New Jersey legislators created by not agreeing on a budget. What it didn’t do is make it easy to understand how a simple percentage point could bring an entire entertainment industry that contributes millions of dollars a day to a state’s economy to a grinding halt. Better yet, it couldn’t answer why state leaders have let this happen.

For the time being, 12 Atlantic City casinos have been shut down and 15,000 workers laid off because state leaders won’t increase the New Jersey sales tax from 6 to 7 percent. According to Governor Jon S. Corzine, this small hike, which will cost citizens about $275 per family each year, is necessary due to a whopping $4.5 billion crater in the budget. Legislators disagree, and since they can’t vote on a budget the state can’t afford to pay non-essential (that’s anyone who can’t arrest you or save your life) employee salaries. Gaming officials are employed by the state, so … you get the picture.

Now I’m the last person anyone needs to consult when it comes to finances. At 32 I can barely balance my checking account, which at any given time holds roughly $12 and some change. Taxes make about as much sense to me as quantum physics to a poop-slinging monkey. And when the dollar amounts total more than 50 I get glassy eyed and drool down the front of my shirt.

Somehow, though, this situation in the Garden State isn’t that hard to figure out. If you have 12 businesses each giving you $1.3 million in revenue seven days a week for 52 weeks a year, I think $275 annually is a drop in the bucket, especially when you consider how many of those families earn their living as employees of those same businesses.

The blackjack tables and slot machines aren’t the only things off limits. Public beaches, historic sites and parks are closed as well. Again, state employees. So you basically have all of New Jersey closed to the public during summer vacation. Hopefully this plan looked better on paper to the politicians.

Who elected these morons, you might ask? Sadly, the same people who now have no income until this standoff ends. They put faith in their leaders to make decisions in their best interest. They gambled on democracy and lost their shirts. To make matters worse, this happened a day after Americans celebrated the anniversary of the birth of their nation. The whole situation makes me sick.

I wonder just how many men and women who rely on their jobs as casino workers have called their legislative representatives and thanked them for holding out on this tax hike. How many New Jersey politicians have been inconvenienced by not being able to take their grandkids to the beach?

I’m betting none.