basic food and clothing....What is that ? Cornmeal and oat meal and pork or beef or lamb? I’m just wondering. What is basic? Cotton clothing? Silk? YOU tell me. Not picking an argument. You brought it up.
That's the problem right there. Suppose a wealthy businessman makes, say, car polish. All he has to do is donate to the right politicians and presto, car polish will be classified as a tax-exempt "basic" item.