[carlosjobim]

This is a pure scam on tax payer money. But what else would be expected?

[hootz]

Apparently no public money was involved.

[jdiff]

This is contrary to the mayor's words on Twitter.

> An open AI model trained in Rio with public funding over the last year by @Prefeitura_Rio surpassing all other models.

https://x.com/CavaliereRio/status/2065984620626129026

[jrm4]

Unlike the big companies who do this, which often are merely impure scams on tax payer money a little more downstream.

[philipallstar]

Companies that generate loads of corporation tax, income tax, and VAT revenue are the exact opposite of wastes of public money.

[jrm4]

Yes, when they do so proportional to what they take, especially as compared to individuals and their tax liabilities.

You'll have to let me know when that finally happens, because that ain't now.

[philipallstar]

Sorry, I've no idea how to read your first sentence.

Your second one - that's how everything public is paid for. Private individuals pay tax, either through their corporations paying corporation tax or the tax bill on top of their wage bills, which a) drives up prices of the goods and services they offer, or depresses wages, and b) funds all the public sector employees and orgs that don't pay tax (orgs) or don't pay net tax (employees).

[jrm4]

Not surprising.

The point of my first sentence is; private individuals and small businesses generally pay their fair share. Larger corporations emphatically do not.

[philipallstar]

What's not surprising?.

Larger corporations pay loads of tax. Shed loads. They pay all the employee and income tax, as well as corporation tax and their sales generate VAT. Small businesses are the ones most likely to have softer tax burdens due to progressive taxation.

[carlosjobim]

Great, now we're defending embezzlement and fraud with public funds on HN, because we really really hate big business.

A child caught doing something bad will cry "but my friends also did it!", is that the level of reasoning hackers want to be at?

[blanched]

That seems like a bad faith read to me. Nobody is defending it, just pointing out the irony / hypocrisy. Two things can be bad, and they can be related.

[carlosjobim]

You'd be surprised to hear then that I'm not the owner of any big company which embezzles tax payer money, and have never been involved in such.

[blanched]

I don’t follow how that makes sense as a response to what I said?

[carlosjobim]

Why would I be a hypocrite for pointing out public fund embezzlement?

[sdevonoes]

There are no hackers around here anymore. HN is mainly about business nowadays

[dmix]

HN has always discussed business

[jrm4]

What part of that said "defense?"

They can both be bad.

[lostlogin]

> Great, now we're defending embezzlement

I might be missing something, but I don’t see anyone defending the the scams.