Question: What do people think about having a tag called something like 'basic'? This tag would encompass questions that can be answered quickly/simply by someone familiar with the language/technology. Perhaps the nature of the tag itself means it would be a big fail as it's so subjective....but it might allow responders to quickly identify those questions that can be answered quickly and clearly. It could also encourage more people to contribute, even if they're not experts. I saw the question on 'Beginner' tags, but the wording of 'basic' suggests something a little bit different, and might be attractive to people not enamored of the loaded word 'beginner'. Just a thought....

Answer: 
I don't think this is beneficial.

* From my experience, the easy questions get answers fairly quickly anyway, so it won't help the one asking.
* For people looking to answer, I think that only they can know what they know, and expecting someone else, specifically a user who doesn't know the answer to his own question, to decide if it is "basic" is also unhelpful.
* I think that reading questions (and answers) that are beyond your current knowledge level is a fine way to learn.
* You can still edit and refine the harder questions, therefore limiting the eyes those questions/answers get is, again, not beneficial.
There is a programming language called Basic, this would lead to confusion 

As @Mr.Wizard says it is not beneficial to say it is a basic question, if it is a basic question it will be answered quickly anyway.