The film theorizes a conspiracy upheld by big government through money control by citing books as Tragedy and Hope by Carroll Quigley, Philip Dru: Administrator by Edward M. House, The Strawberry Statement by James Simon Kunen and The Communist Manifesto by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels.
Opening remarks by Charlton Heston and Mickey Rooney are used to establish the film’s direction and mood. Introductory scenes quickly dissolve into one laced with sounds of thunder and artillery fire. The setting is atop Niagara Falls where waters cascade over the falls’ edge. Superimposed in the haze are dissolving scenes of American conflicts from the American Revolutionary War through Desert Storm.
Concerned about the future of the U.S., Knapp heads to Washington D.C. to address his problems. When he had difficulties accomplishing his goals, he decided to alter his strategy and to pursue his own earmark. Knapp hired a lobbyist and set out to obtain government funding for his project, which was to construct a museum of government waste. The idea for the project came from filmmakers Ellen and Jim Hubbard asking themselves "why can't Congress get a handle on wasteful spending?," "how could we become a part of the process to see how and why Congress makes spending decisions?," and “what’s the ultimate ridiculous earmark that we can come up with?’”