This sense of disillusionment felt by American society with its wealth-biased government is justified by the fact that many members are rich or have direct ties to wealth, perpetuating the trend of income inequality through policy making. The legislative branch of government, or the branch directly involved in making policy and legislation, is populated by various extremely wealthy members who represent many sectors of the economy that contributed to the financial collapse of 2007 and 2008 As a whole, members of Congress are undeniably wealthier than the constituents they represent in government. In 2012, the "median salary" of a Senate member was about $2.7 million, and the average wealth of a House representative was about $600,000. Although members of Congress are significantly wealthier than ordinary Americans, some members of Congress are wealthier than others because of their prior efforts in politics. The richest member of Congress in 2012 was Darrell Issa, a Republican from California, with a net worth of about $600 million, edging out the second-richest member of Congress, Mark Warner, a Democrat from Virginia with net worth of $418 million ("Net Worth"). This contrasts sharply with the average GDP, or gross domestic product, of the United States, which is approximately $52,000. The extreme disparity between the net worth of representatives multimillionaires and that of the average American demonstrates that Congress is more likely to pass laws favoring themselves than laws that are less prosperous, thereby widening the income inequality gap through achieving a. extravagant wealth, many "legislators appear to have interests in renowned and recognizable corporations and properties", which appears in the middle of paper ......2012> The Charters of the. Liberty. Archives.gov, nd Web February 27, 2014. “2012 General Election Turnout.” United States Elections Project. George Mason University, 2012. Web. February 27, 2014. “2012 Presidential Race.” OpenSecrets.org. The Center for Responsive Politics, 2012. Web. May 25, 2014. “Wealth Trends of Members of Congress.” OpenSecrets.org. The Center for Responsive Politics, nd Web. May 25, 2014. .Williams, Roberton. "CBO Details Growing Income Inequality in the United States." Forbes. Forbes, December 9, 2013. Web. February 27. 2014. .