How did such a state come about? In the past, the Federal Government, as well as state and local governments, spearheaded the creation and renewal of U.S. infrastructure. The Erie Canal, which opened the interior of the United States to commerce with the east coast and ultimately with Europe; the intercontinental railway, which tied the entire country together; the Tennessee Valley Authority, which electrified and modernized a great swath of rural America; the Interstate Highway System, on which all of us have traveled; and a myriad of other undertakings were all funded or enabled by Government. Such efforts not only created productive projects but made us all proud of our country.

But in recent years our governments have backed away from such transformational activity, in particular, the Federal government. Having spent a fortune on the Iraq war, our swollen deficits made Congress reluctant to invest funds in domestic projects, even though such investments would, by any measure, have achieved a marvelous return. Having spent so much on destruction overseas we were loath to spend money on construction at home.



In 2008, we had a perfect opportunity. Millions were out of jobs, and there were thousands of projects worth doing. But instead of undertaking anything constructive, the members of our Congress did nothing but argue with each other, and as a result virtually nothing got done – particularly nothing that would truly strengthen our nation. Our politicians focused on tearing each other down rather than building our country up.



As the 2016 presidential election approaches, and a new administration prepares to take office we again have an opportunity to make the kind of public investments that would revitalize our nation, create jobs at a time when they are badly needed, and modernize our dilapidated foundation. It's time to seize this opportunity and not let it pass us by. Outnumbered as they are, we can only hope the engineers will at last prevail.

Commentary by Dr. James Simons, a prize winning mathematician, founder of Renaissance Technologies, and chair of the Simons Foundation, which is focused on supporting scientific research.



For the latest commentary on the markets in the U.S. and around the world, follow @cnbcopinion on Twitter.