According to senate.gov, since 2009 the annual salary of each representative and senator is $174,000. Furthermore, congress salaries have not decreased since 1933. According to the US census bureau, the median personal income of the US population for age 25+ is ~$32,000. If our representatives are making about 5.5 times the median, how would they be able to accurately represent and relate to their American constituents?
Tying their salaries to the state median would allow them to "feel" economic hardship or success, and the effects of good or bad policies.
Median is a better measure than mean. It would not reflect the conditions of the rich, but the condition of most Americans. 5.5 times is too high!