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Anirban Basu is Chairman and President of Sage Policy Group, Inc. He is one of the Mid-Atlantic region’s leading economists, while serving on the board of Baltimore City Public School System, Union Memorial Hospital, the MedStar strategic planning committee, Chesapeake Habitat for Humanity, the Maryland Business Council, and First Mariner Bank.

Anirban earned his B.S. in Foreign Service at Georgetown University in 1990. He then earned his Master’s in Public Policy from Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government, and his Master’s in Economics from the University of Maryland, College Park. His Juris Doctor was earned at the University of Maryland School of Law in 2003.

Anirban’s mentor, Dr. Michael A. Conte, taught him to tell stories with data, and in a capitalistic society there is much data, and many stories to tell. “It’s nice to use soaring rhetoric, but I think what most people are looking for is that one big number that says, ‘ah ha, this is the truth.’”

Mr. Basu’s father came to America in 1967, settling in Illinois and eventually building a successful medical practice. When asked about mentors or leaders who he believes inspired his path, his father comes to mind. “My father made enormous sacrifices for his children, sent us to great schools… and that’s what I’m trying to do for my children. He was a great man.”

Many who immigrate to the U.S. have an intimate understanding of how fortunate they are to live in a country where democracy governs the land, and education is more a predeterminer for success than gender, race, or social class of origin. Often this pride in the promise America brings is passed down to the children of immigrants. Anirban has clearly inherited a belief in what is possible here.

Anirban is passionate about his leadership roles throughout the community. Unabashed pride appears on his face when discussing the Baltimore City Public School board’s role in garnering CEO, Andrés A. Alonso, Ed.D. “Already, reading and math scores are on the rise. Baltimore is no longer the lowest performing school district in Maryland. There is much to do, but we’re moving forward.”

Amidst the improvements, the data tells a frustrating tale of civic disengagement.

“Nationally, we have increasing debt – failing infrastructures, high crime, and schools that are not even close to the top. Here we have big corporations saying, ‘free-enterprise – get government out of the way – let the private sector do the heavy lifting,’ but as soon as the top of the food chain got into trouble… the first thing they did was run to the government for bailouts.

“Yet, we’re not paying attention. We’re not holding public officials accountable. The power of the incumbency in this country is astonishing. We tend to vote for names we recognize, regardless of how that person performed during elected office. It takes time to become aware of issues, and Americans don’t seem to want to do the work.

“The voice of business is incredibly weak in Annapolis as well… even though the success of business has become so important, given the state’s unemployment numbers: 7% and 11% for African Americans nationally. We cannot expect government to supply these people with jobs… it has to be about private sector business.”

This type of political and civic disengagement has been dubbed in some circles as ‘rational ignorance’. By merely voting, if voting at all, we tell ourselves that we have done our duty. The majority return home from the polls with little understanding of the issues for which they have cast their ballots. After the election cycle ends, the gladiators return to their respective cages and we return to regularly scheduled programming.

Raj Patel, Former World Bank economist and fellow at the Institute for Food and Development Policy, shares a similar view. “We get reeled into behaving strictly as consumers. We don’t pay the full social cost for the way we eat, for instance. One in five healthcare dollars goes to pay for treatment of diabetes – a big component of that decrease has a lot to do with the way we eat, but that cost does not show up on the price tag. We behave like consumers rather than citizens.”

“Profoundly gifted leaders are needed,” says Anirban Basu. He believes President Obama is one, but one is not nearly enough to lead 3.7 million people.

“We need the median person to become less selfish, more educated, and more responsible for their own cities and towns.”