But there *is* rational reason. And for a Detroit US citizen is *is* his/her birthright.
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The US should look out for US citizens

I would make a fine distinction there.

Sure, the US can redistribute its national income and wealth in whatever way best suits the population, as can any other country. That might including paying some people quite a bit more than the actual value of what they're doing, taking that money from someone else in the same country. The national pie might also be slightly bigger or smaller depending on the choices made, but choices they are.

But it's quite a leap from there to "I have the right to be paid many times as much as the people making the stuff I want to consume." One logical consequence of that view is that it's the government's job to actively ensure that there are always lots of very poor people elsewhere in the world, as it's the only way to defend that "right" against the risk of widespread prosperity. Not a policy goal I would endorse!

I think people have a lot of very valid desires, but not nearly as many of them are validly seen as "rights" as popular belief would have it.

Jim