A lawmaker lights up Twitter by saying she spent nearly $800 at Costco
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Rep. Stefani Lord came out of a Costco Wholesale store with a big bill and wasn’t too happy about it.
The New Mexico Republican took to Twitter to post her receipt — $799.38 for 58 items — as she sarcastically thanked President Joe Biden.
She declined to itemize the receipt, but insisted the bulk of the purchases were for food like chicken thighs and frozen broccoli, or for small items like paper towels and razors.
The store identified in the receipt is in Albuquerque, where there is a state tax of 5% and a city tax of 2.75%. Given that food isn’t taxed in the state, she spent about $207 on the non-food items.
Costco does sell in bulk, unlike grocery stores.
Lord’s spending appears to be far in excess of the typical Costco customer. Business Insider earlier in the year cited Numerator data showing the average customer spends about $100 per trip.
Inflation has come down, but still is in excess of levels the Federal Reserve considers to be appropriate. The latest inflation data from the Labor Department found consumer prices climbed 4% in the 12 months ending May, including 6.7% inflation on food.
Costco shares have gained 14% this year, about in line with the broader S&P 500 index