Back when the world was in the midst of an economic meltdown, most countries conjured up more money to mitigate the situation. The United States was one of the more egregious offenders and now the dollar, along with related exchange traded funds (ETFs), is feeling the burden.

According to author John Rubino, he foresaw this crisis and the fact that world governments would inevitably print as much new paper currency as possible to avoid any Great Depression-esque scenario, remarks Lara Crigger for Hard Assets Investor. What he predicts next is where it gets interesting…

The increased supply in paper currency would cause paper currencies to start depreciating. In turn, people would realize their wealth is being diminished through no fault of their own and they would begin to lose faith in the concept of paper currencies.

Commodities are becoming an increasingly popular alternative to holding paper currencies. Rubino thinks that holding real assets in some farmland (something Jim Rogers is already doing), high-quality oil stocks and precious metals are a good way to spread risk.

Gold and silver are both noted for their potential for hedging against inflation, and a traditional trend shows that if f gold goes up 20% in a given month, then silver could go up 30%-40%. Oil is another commodity that could be on the rise and investors should note that rising oil prices could send money into solar, wind and other clean techs.

What do you think? Do you think these predictions could come true

• PowerShares DB U.S. Dollar Index Bullish (UUP): down 3.2% year-to-date

• PowerShares DB U.S. Dollar Index Bearish (UDN): up 2.2% year-to-date

For more information on global currencies, visit our currency category. Also, remember to take a gander at our currency special report.

Max Chen contributed to this article.

Tags: U.S. Dollar, UDN, UUP