Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody's Analytics, and some other big-time experts think the economy can grow more than 3 percent next year.

"All the preconditions for a much better economy are in place," Zandi told CNBC.

"It's just going to take a little spark, and we'll be off and running. I expect it [next] year. The only thing is I've been expecting it for a couple years, and that's the only thing that gets me nervous," he noted.

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Legal and regulatory issues have been a burden on the economy, Zandi explained.

But, "I think the regulatory and legal uncertainty . . . is lifting slowly but surely," he said. And if the Federal Reserve can taper its quantitative easing smoothly, Zandi believes the economy will thrive.

Joseph LaVorgna, chief U.S. economist at Deutsche Bank, expects growth of more than 3 percent next year also.

"Other than employment, we've checked a lot of these boxes, even on the regulatory side. Financial regulation is getting some clarity, and after this week, we're not going to have a budget shutdown for at least two years," he told CNBC.

Economists at Pimco expect U.S. GDP to grow to 2.25 to 2.75 percent next year, up from 1.8 percent this year.

"The U.S. economy is healing," Pimco CEO Mohamed El-Erian told Bloomberg. "Household balance sheets are in a better place."

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