Morning Line: The governor is not a threat to growth, just realistic

The data also shows that one other consequence of so much pessimism is also coming to fruition as consumer confidence fell to a 13-month low weighed down by worries about the economic outlook and unemployment.

And businesses are struggling to fill the gap from falling domestic demand as the gradual improvement in credit conditions earlier in the year seems to have come to a halt. That is echoed by the latest Bank of England data today which shows another fall in lending to corporations.

That too could be a consequence of all this doom and gloom as banks are unlikely to lend if they fear the economy is about to lurch lower again.

No-one likes a doom-monger. We're all tired of this uncertainty. Many of us are nervous as we look ahead to an unfinanced retirement, a longer working life than we had hoped for and are trying to cope with a low return on our savings, rising rates on borrowing and market volatility.

But while it is easy to lash out at King and make him a scapegoat for our collective nervousness, there are good reasons to pay attention to what he is saying.

We need to accept that recovery won't be swift, that rebalancing the economy will take time and the next few years will be bumpy and painful.

He is also saying that neither he nor any of the other committee members can guarantee to make it all better and bail us out.

They are faced with a difficult balancing act and so are we. No motivational speech can change that.