Hello everyone, today is January 28th (Tuesday), welcome to watch “Current Affairs Highlights”. I am Jin Ran. For viewers in the Asia-Pacific region, it is already the first day of the lunar new year. I wish everyone a prosperous new year and a joyous family reunion. Please continue to support us in the new year, subscribe to our channel, like, comment, and share our content.
Today’s highlights are as follows:
Trump declares all-out war on Mexican drug cartels; how the top boss of the underworld was taken down; Trump plans to abolish federal income tax for Americans, setting up the “External Tax Collection Agency”; US military eliminates over ten thousand transgenders, allowing eight thousand soldiers to return.
In addition to the Secretary of State, CIA Director, Secretary of Defense, and Secretary of Homeland Security, Trump’s cabinet has added another major figure, the nominated Treasury Secretary Scott Bennett.
On January 27th, the US Senate confirmed Bennett’s appointment by a vote of 68 to 29. Bennett’s assumption of office is seen as the beginning of a dual approach of “tax reform” and “tariffs” in the United States. As a former prominent investor, Bennett is immediately faced with the massive fiscal deficit issue of the US government, needing to balance between tax cuts and reducing the federal deficit, which poses a huge challenge.
Trump has already made two major moves in tax matters that can be considered groundbreaking. Firstly, on January 14th, Trump announced his plan to establish a new government institution called the “External Tax Collection Agency,” dedicated to collecting tariffs and other taxes from foreign countries.
You might be wondering, which is the most powerful executive department in the US? Some might say the police department, others might say the FBI… but most Americans know that the most powerful institution in the US is the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), which has the authority for “armed tax enforcement” – meaning they can show up at your door with a gun if you are found evading taxes, freeze all your assets, and then send you to jail.
Americans jokingly refer to the IRS as the third largest armed military organization after the US military and the US Coast Guard. In the 1930s, there was a famous Chicago mafia boss named Al Capone, known as the most powerful mafia boss in US history, who often executed his rivals in a brutal manner and the police couldn’t touch him. How crazy was this boss? The Taliban organization, behind the planning of the 9/11 attacks, once claimed: “Compared to what Capone did, our actions aren’t that scary.”
Capone’s mafia organization had an annual illegal income of over a hundred million dollars but their financial records were clean. However, he eventually fell into the hands of the IRS. The IRS found it suspicious that such a wealthy boss was paying so little tax, so they sent an undercover agent to work as Capone’s accountant and finally found evidence that he had failed to report a $100,000 income from a casino.
The IRS thought: you can play in the underworld, commit murder and arson, but if you dare not to pay your taxes, we must teach you a lesson. They showed up at his door fully armed, arrested him, and then sentenced him to 11 years. Thus, the career of this once most notorious boss in America came to an end. It is said that this mafia boss left behind three famous sayings, one of them being: you must pay taxes to the federal government on time.
After all that background information, let’s finally get to the main point. Now, Trump is aiming to take on the most powerful IRS in America.
During a speech at the Congressional Research Institute yesterday, Trump again emphasized his intention to abolish income taxes for all Americans. If this is achieved, it would be a significant event that will make Americans wake up with a smile even while sleeping, essentially giving all American citizens an unconditional pay raise. Trump believes that “instead of taxing our citizens to make foreigners rich, it is better to collect tariffs and taxes from foreigners to make our citizens wealthy.”
You might be wondering, what will happen to those armed special agents at the IRS who monitor Americans’ tax payments if federal personal income taxes for Americans are eliminated?
No need to worry, Trump has a plan for them. He has already stated that he will dismiss all 88,000 IRS special agents, or simply transfer them all to patrol the southern US border, where they can carry guns, as the region needs extra manpower. Trump’s idea is to have these tens of thousands of people rather monitor illegal immigrants who may try to enter the US and disrupt American lives than focus on American citizens’ pockets. Trump isn’t just making idle talk as there is a real crisis brewing at the US-Mexico border.
On January 27th, at the border between Texas, US, and Mexico, a group of Mexican drug cartels tried to sneak illegal immigrants across the river into the US but they were discovered. These criminals even opened fire at the US border patrol, leading to a shootout. The US border patrol managed to thwart this illegal crossing.
Recent reports suggest that illegal immigrants crossing the border have revealed that Mexican cartels charge $15,000 as a fee to smuggle illegal immigrants across the US-Mexico border. For an additional $1,000, they will deliver you to a more conveniently accessible town.
Trump’s deployment of troops is not limited to the southern border. On January 27th, Trump tweeted: “The US military has just entered California and, according to the National Energy Emergency Law, will source-save, allowing wasted water to flow back to the Northwestern Pacific and other regions. The era where false environmental arguments prevail over the people is gone for good. California, enjoy your water resources.”
While Trump is dispatching troops, he is also taking action within the US military itself. Trump recently ordered the dismissal of 8,980 active-duty and 5,727 reserve transgender military personnel, which means approximately 15,000 transgender individuals, including four-star generals, will be thoroughly removed along with all DEI departments. At the same time, the 8,000 soldiers who were discharged during the pandemic for refusing vaccinations will be called back. Moreover, they will receive an official apology, reimbursement of all their salaries for those years, and relevant positions.
In my view, the military is a place prepared to defend the country and be willing to sacrifice blood at any time. It is a place where one should focus on combat readiness. Politicizing such an institution is equivalent to weakening oneself, as if turning the lives of all soldiers and the battlefield into a trivial matter. It is like incorporating a political commissar or instructor system into the military, which the Communist Party does to command the gun and maintain dictatorial rule. To add such elements into the US military, what does it signify? The recent statements by the newly appointed US Secretary of Defense Hargesis show a revitalized US military.
In breaking news on January 28th, the situation at the US-Mexico border has escalated rapidly. The Mexican drug cartels have thoroughly provoked Trump. “Border Emperor” Tom Homan publicly declared a full-scale war against Mexican drug cartels, vowing to “wipe them off the face of the earth.” “We will not only launch attacks in Mexico but also in all 42 countries where drug trafficking groups operate.”
In my opinion, it is no longer just a situation where the storm is about to arrive but rather the arrow is already on the string, and the big battle is about to begin!
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