Anirban Basu

Sage Policy Group

Whether it’s analyzing the future of Maryland´s high-tech economy, the performance of a particular agency or an investment in Baltimore or elsewhere across the country, economist Anirban Basu still strives each day to bring the best, most relevant information to his clients and his community.

And yet some 12 years after realizing his dream of starting his own business – he founded the Sage Policy Group, of which he is the chairman and CEO — Basu still considers his duties as a small-business owner to meet payroll and ensure the happiness of his clients and staff the most important part of what he does each day.

“It’s been a good part one,” he said of his career. “People know who we are, we´ve created a national consultancy and we´re pretty proud of that.”

And for part two, Basu said he has plans to be elected to public office within the next three to five years. Basu could run for a local seat at the county level, for example, but more important is his desire to help guide public policy, he said.

A registered Republican, Basu said he sees a lot of ignorant policymaking and decisions taken by politicians on both sides of the aisle, often, it seems, just to spite political rivals.

That’s led to a loss of focus on what should be the true objective: to maximize the presence of broad prosperity, he said.

“Too few people feel the American dream is still alive, and increasingly, we are divided society,” he said.

“I would like to get in politics to unify,” Basu said.

But if politics doesn’t work out, another goal would be to work as an administrator at a college campus. Time spent on the boards of various educational institutions in the community, as well as a current stint as a lecturer in micro- and macroeconomics at Johns Hopkins University, has given him a taste for such a role, he said.

“There are many pathways to success,” Basu said.