The Week in Words: Death panels; muddling along; happy to retire at 60

"We're just muddling along. I think it is going to be hard to break out of this sluggish-growth rut."

- Ken Mayland, president of ClearView Economics L.L.C., on news that the U.S. economy expanded at a 2 percent annual rate in the third quarter

"We do have death panels. Not for old ladies under health care reform, but for financial institutions under Dodd-Frank."

- U.S. Rep. Barney Frank (D., Mass.) on the law named for Frank and U.S. Sen. Christopher J. Dodd (D., Conn.) that gives the government authority to unwind collapsing financial firms that may threaten the entire system

"What happiness! To retire at 60, in good health, allows you to discover things."

- Frenchman Guy Robert, 61, on why he joined a protest march through Paris against raising France's retirement age to 62

"Political advertising has been a gigantic Band-Aid for this market."

- Darrin McDonald, a television station executive in Las Vegas, on the bonanza in this year's political TV ads

"We do not see any particularly encouraging signs that positive factors are going to emerge in the foreseeable future."

- Kent C. Lufkin, president and chief executive officer of TF Financial Corp., on Pennsylvania's broader economy

"If China salaries get increased and people work less, they will have more time and more money to spend. This domestic demand will also help other countries in the world."

- Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim, on why China needs to boost domestic demand rather than let its currency appreciate to improve global trade