Joe Biden talks taxes and pies at DC’s first Costco
US Vice President Joe Biden shops for pies during a visit to a Costco store in Washington, DC, on November 29, 2012. Biden made the visit to the first Costco store located in Washington, DC, during its grand opening.
The vice president flashed his membership card at Washington DC's first Costco superstore and immediately set out looking for pies.
Joe Biden appeared at the grand opening of the first Costco in Northeast Washington and met with co-founder Jim Sinegal and CEO Craig Jelinek, reports the Los Angeles Times.
During his short trip, Biden managed to fill his cart with books, fire logs, an apple pie and a 32-inch Panasonic television.
“Now you know why my wife doesn’t let me shop alone,” he joked.
In between perusing the baked goods and flat screen TVs, Biden took some time to weigh in on important economic issues, saying that he's hopeful a deal will be reached between President Barack Obama and Congressional Republicans to avert the "fiscal cliff".
According to AP, Biden said the shiny new superstore is a sign that consumer confidence is growing.
"The last thing we need to do is dash that", Biden said. The Bush-era tax cuts are scheduled to expire Jan. 1, and coupled with across-the-board spending cuts, could plunge the country back into recession.
“All of these folks in this store, man, it’s going to make a difference. Take $2,200 out of their pockets next year, you have a big problem," Biden said in front of shoppers gathered to catch a photo with the vice president.
Biden said he hoped they could agree on a budget package before the Christmas holidays to avoid crushing consumer confidence.
"We have a lot we have to settle, but there's one thing we should all agree on and that's the middle-class tax cut should be made permanent. I think it's important Congress acts now, I mean right now," Biden said.
Biden's office did not say why he chose the grand opening of the Costco to do his shopping but the Washington Post reports that campaign finance reports show that Susan Brotman, the wife of Costco co-founder Jeff Brotman, bundled $508,646 in contributions for Obama’s campaign and that Sinegal is a longtime Democratic donor who spoke at the Democratic National Convention.