Grand Rapids, MI -- (SBWIRE) -- 02/15/2013 -- Financial advisor Dennis Tubbergen does his best to keep his clients, readers and listeners informed on the latest happenings in the economy. Anyone who happens to miss his latest broadcasts can simply catch up on them by going to his radio website at http://www.everythingfinancialradio.com.

Tubbergen's last guest was Chris Martenson. Martenson is also the creator of The Crash Course, a 20-chapter online video course that educates viewers on our broken economic system, the crisis of population demographics, and Peak Oil. Since its launch in 2008, The Crash Course has been viewed millions of times online and has sold over 20,000 DVD copies.

Tubbergen, who is an author, radio show host, and CEO of PLP Services, LLC, spends a lot of time giving his opinions on the economy in his Moving Markets weekly newsletter at http://www.moving-markets.com and in his online financial blog. On January 22, 2013 his blog was titled, "The Federal Reserve Minutes: Fed Underestimated Potential for Financial Crisis."

"An article in The Wall Street Journal reported that the Federal Reserve meeting minutes from 2007 demonstrate how the Fed underestimated the potential for a financial collapse that actually occurred just one year later," began Tubbergen. "The Fed's 2007 meeting minutes are just now being released since they are kept confidential until after 5 years have passed."

Tubbergen quotes from the January 18, 2013 meeting as follows:

Federal Reserve officials in 2007 appeared to underestimate the sickly condition of U.S. financial markets before shifting to a state of growing alarm, according to 1,566 pages of newly released transcripts from the central bank's meetings that year.

The transcripts, made public by the central bank after a traditional five-year lag, provide the most complete view yet of decision-making inside the nation's central bank at the dawn of a historic crisis, and provide fresh insight into the thinking of several key players still on the economic scene.

During most of the year, Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke embraced only reluctantly the interventionist stance that has defined his stewardship of the central bank. In December 2007, he said he was "quite conflicted" about whether to cut interest rates sharply. At other times, he talked about wanting to avoid bailing out financial markets, institutions or people.

Janet Yellen, the Fed's No. 2 who is now a leading contender to succeed Mr. Bernanke when his term expires in January 2014, emerges as one of the Fed's more prescient voices. Early in the crisis, she became alarmed about the impact of housing-market stresses on the economy, and became a leading advocate for aggressive action.

Like many others, U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, who at the time was president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, appeared early on to underestimate the growing financial stress.

The article goes on to tell how the Fed began holding short-term interest rates at 5.25% and was hopeful that the housing downturn was running its course. But the housing crunch continued to persist and the Fed finally began to mobilize. However, some experts believe that Fed officials put too little focus on the long-term consequences of their policies.

"There are two things that really stand out to me about this article," explains Tubbergen. "First, the Federal Reserve Board had no clue as to what the exact state of the U.S. economy was in spite of the fact that there were many bright folks at the time who predicted that the housing market was in a bubble and that debt levels in the private sector were much too high to be sustained."

Tubbergen's second point is that the Fed's minutes indicate that they didn't want to bail out financial institutions and as late as 2007, just one year prior to the financial crisis, Bernanke stated that he expected at least moderate growth.

"Given what these minutes tell us, there is no reason to believe that the Fed has it right this time either," concludes Tubbergen. "These minutes actually help to make the case that I've been arguing all along, that money printing will not solve the problem. It will only make the eventual consequences worse."

To read the blog in its entirety go to http://www.dennistubbergen.com and select his January 22, 2013 entry.

Tubbergen’s syndicated radio show can be heard on metro Michigan stations WTKG 1230 AM and WOOD Newsradio1300 AM and 106.9 FM.

About The Host Dennis Tubbergen
Dennis Tubbergen has been in the financial industry for over 25 years and has his corporate offices in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Tubbergen is CEO of PLP Advisors, LLC and has an online blog that can be read at http://www.dennistubbergen.com. To view Tubbergen’s latest Moving Markets newsletter, go to http://www.moving-markets.com.

The opinions expressed herein are those of the writer and not necessarily those of USA Wealth Management, LLC. This update may contain forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to, statements as to future events that involve various risks and uncertainties. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause actual events or results to differ materially from those that were forecasted. Therefore, no forecast should be construed as a guarantee. Prior to making any investment decision, individuals should consult a professional to determine the risks, costs, benefits and fees associated with a particular investment. Information obtained from third party resources is believed to be reliable but the accuracy cannot be guaranteed.