Multiple ballot measures will be on the ballot in Missouri during the midterms, which are only a few weeks away. One of these ballot measures is Proposition B, which would raise the minimum wage in Missouri from $7.85 to $12.

According to the Massachusetts institute of technology, the minimum wage that a person in Kansas City could survive on is $11.05, which is $3.20 less than the current minimum wage in Missouri.

“I think $15 may be too much, because some people just need it to have a job, and not to actually sustain themselves,” junior Lindsey Bailey said.

Proposition B would create an increase of $4.15. The living wage calculator calculates that this is a few cents over the amount required for a single adult Missourian to survive. For adults with children, the calculator says that the wage necessary for them to survive could be between $20 and $40.

“I think the minimum wage should be raised a little, but it should also not go too high. Businesses shouldn’t be too regulated,” sophomore Courtney Ledbetter said.

Proponents of Proposition B say that the minimum wage is simply too low, and that it needs to be higher. Some proponents say it should be $15, or even higher, but say that $12 is a good start.

Freshman Liam McLaughlin said that he does not think that $7.85 is enough for people to sustain themselves on, because it just is not that much money.

Opponents of Proposition B say that the minimum wage is fine, and that it would be better to deal with unemployment claiming that as unemployment goes down, minimum wage may increase on its own without government regulation.

“I believe the best way to improve wages is to have lower unemployment, thereby making it necessary to for employers to pay more to get employees,” former U.S. attorney Jean Paul Bradshaw told the Kansas City Star.