There’s been a whole lot of political, social and financial goings-on over the past several weeks, and I’ve been fielding a lot of questions about it all from friends, family and particularly from you, The Deep Woods army. Fortunately, I have this platform to make my thoughts public, and I cherish that opportunity and I shall always treat it with the reverence it demands.
Given the various questions and issues on your minds, I thought I would do another “Ask Me Anything” or “AMA,” and this time we’ll call it the “Childless Cat Ladies Edition.” So, let’s begin, as logic dictates, with our first question.
My friend Charles R. offered me the following comment and question: “Jim, what did you think of J.D. Vance’s comments on ‘childless cat ladies?’ Aren’t you one of those childless cat ladies, too? LOL.”
Charles R. is a long-time friend of mine, and he’s one of those “intellectual brothers from another mother” that, if you are fortunate enough to find, really add value to your life. And as best friends for nearly four decades, we make each other laugh with our observations on the world. So, I knew exactly what he meant by “aren’t you one of those childless cat ladies, too.”
I mean, after all, I am childless, and I do have many cats. And while I identify proudly as a cisgender male that exudes “toxic masculinity,” I also have about a dozen barn felines on my ranch in Southern California, and I do love them all like one of those “cat ladies.”
Now, in case you haven’t heard the J.D. Vance comments referred to here, they come from a 2021 interview with Fox News that’s been plastered all over airwaves by the mainstream media, in which Sen. Vance said the nation was run by “childless cat ladies” who are “miserable.”
Courtesy of Shutterstock
Sen. Vance’s deeper point here was actually a defense of marriage and traditional family, and I take it as such. And that defense is fair enough. However, what Vance has said about people who don’t choose to have children is rather outrageously stupid. It’s also politically moronic.
I say that because Americans, childless or not, are ends in themselves. Each person is an individual first, and not merely some member of a tribe, or clan or even a family.
As an individual, you have a stake in the current and future success of your country. Just because Vance has chosen to bring children into the world doesn’t mean those that haven’t made the same choice have any less of a stake than he does. In fact, it’s quite an insult to individualism to make that claim, and as a defender of individualism, I couldn’t disagree with the Senator more on this issue.
Unfortunately, Sen. Vance added insult to injury with his comments, saying that childless Americans ought to pay higher taxes than those who have kids.
“If you’re making $100,000 [or] $400,000 a year, and you’ve got three kids, you should pay a different, lower tax rate than if you’re making the same amount of money and you don’t have kids,” Vance said during an interview with conservative activist and podcaster Charlie Kirk.
Yet, as my friends at Reason.com point out…
“…childless Americans actually do pay higher taxes than most of those who reproduce. That was true in 2021, and it is true today. That’s because of the child tax credit, which has existed since 1997 and has been partially refundable since 2001. For each dependent that can be claimed, a tax filer gets up to $2,000 credit — with up to $1,400 of that total being refundable, meaning that it gets paid out even if the filer doesn’t owe any taxes. As part of the tax reform package passed by Republicans during the Trump administration, the child tax credit was doubled from $1,000 per kid to the current level.”
So you see, Sen. Vance doesn’t even have his facts straight here, and I think it behooves him to do so if he wants to be a heartbeat away from being the leader of the free world.
Yet the wider, more important point, is that far from respecting the individual here, Sen. Vance wants to socially engineer the country with tax policy that punishes individuals for their choices. That’s not conservative, nor free market, nor freedom loving — it’s just another example of big government imposing its will on citizens — which is not okay no matter who does it.
Craig S. writes: “Jim, is it time to exit technology and communications services stocks here? There’s been a big correction in the space, and I am struggling with what to do with my tech and AI-related holdings. I also own CrowdStrike. Any advice here?”
Craig S., also a long-time personal friend and subscriber, poses a great question here. You see, for most of the past 18 months, stocks in the “Magnificent Seven” have been the biggest winners in the market, and they’ve helped propel the broader S&P 500 to new, all-time highs. Yet in July, there’s been a repricing of the tech giants, as their valuations and momentum definitely got over their collective skis, and hence we saw a pullback.
Yet, when it comes to companies in the “Magnificent Seven,” the fundamentals remain robust, and largely intact. That’s particularly true of Alphabet, Meta Platforms and Nvidia, which continue to dominate their respective spaces.
So, if you are playing the “long game,” I would not abandon these earnings powerhouses. I am certainly staying long in each within my own personal portfolio. That said, if you have robust gains in these stocks and you want to make sure you protect them, there is nothing wrong with peeling off some profits and keeping that money in reserve and ready to redeploy to new opportunities.
As for CrowdStrike, by now the whole world knows what happened with their disastrous quality control issues in releasing a defective software update that nearly crippled the global economy. Yet, ask yourself this: Why did one corrupted update cause such a big snafu throughout the globe? The reason is because so many people use CrowdStrike’s cybersecurity software.
For me, the ubiquity and widespread reliance on CrowdStrike’s products confirms that it’s the best company to own in the space. And once the news of the mistake subsides, and once CrowdStrike gets past any short-term financial impacts to its bottom line from the incident, it will be back to big moves higher in terms of earnings-per-share (EPS) growth and for the share price. So, my advice is to stay long CrowdStrike.
Ken C. writes: “Jim, I saw you judging the ‘Pitch Tank’ at FreedomFest this year. You looked like you were having a blast. What was that like, and did you enjoy it as much as you seemed to be?”
Ken, thanks for the kind words and the accurate observation as to the visible fun I was having judging the Pitch Tank. I’ve always wanted to be one of the “sharks” on one of my favorite TV shows, “Shark Tank,” so doing the live version at FreedomFest was a true joy. Not only were the pitches very well done and very interesting, but I also identified a couple of companies that I think have investable potential (at least from a venture capitalist perspective).
The experience was so enjoyable, in fact, that I’ve already agreed to be a judge again at next year’s conference, which, incidentally, will take place earlier than usual next year, from June 11-14, 2025, in Palm Springs, California. Click here for your chance to get a special early bird discount on registration.
Finally, before I leave the subject of FreedomFest and the Pitch Tank, I want to personally and publicly thank my friend and colleague, Dr. Paul Wendee, for asking me to be a part of the judging. A true Renaissance Man, Dr. Wendee is an entrepreneur, venture capitalist, newsletter writer, professor, martial arts expert (he’s a Fourth Dan (4th degree black belt) Shotokan karate practitioner) and, like me, a fan of James Bond and very fast British sports cars.
In fact, last night, I had the privilege of guest lecturing to Dr. Wendee’s MBA class, and it was something that I truly enjoyed. So, here publicly, I want to say, “Thank you, Paul!”
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The Day the Music Died
I was a lonely teenage broncin’ buck
With a pink carnation and a pickup truck
But I knew I was out of luck
The day the music died
–Don McClean, “American Pie”
On Sunday, I had the privilege of seeing American Troubadour Don McClean perform. Of course, he played his iconic song, “American Pie,” which is a meditative journey through our country’s cultural landscape from 1959 to 1970 (the song was released in 1971).
The main theme of the song is “the day the music died,” a reference to the events of Febuary 3, 1959, the infamous date of the plane crash that killed Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and the Big Bopper. The three rockers were each at the pinnacle of the music world at the time of the crash, and their deaths all on the same day of the same circumstance became largely referred to in popular culture as “the day the music died.”
If you know the song, or even if you don’t, give it a listen right now. For those who know it, it will undoubtedly bring back vivid memories from your youth. And if you don’t know it, you’re in for a musical treat, as it’s one of the best songs ever written. Full stop.
Wisdom about money, investing and life can be found anywhere. If you have a good quote that you’d like me to share with your fellow readers, send it to me, along with any comments, questions and suggestions you have about my newsletters, seminars or anything else. Click here to ask Jim.
In the name of the best within us,
Jim Woods
