Shanesha Taylor, the Valley mother who achieved fame by leaving her kids in a hot car, sheds tears and blames the economy in an exclusive interview the New York Times published Sunday.
Taylor's facing felony prosecution for her decision to leave her 2-year-old and 6-month-old kids in a car for 70 minutes while she interviewed for a job at a Scottsdale insurance agency.
See also: -Racism Accusations in Shanesha Taylor Case Based on Inaccurate Information
Having raised more than $100,000 from well-wishers across the country, Taylor can now afford to pay a lawyer to put the right spin on her story. She, her boyfriend and the lawyer sat down to talk to New York Times writer Shaila Dewan. Dewan tries to connect the economy to the alleged crime, but ends up exposing Taylor's bad decision-making.
In the article, Taylor describes how she quit a decent job as a mortgage loan officer in 2008 to "regroup" after her grandmother died and "never regained her economic footing."
That's Lesson One: Don't quit a good job unless you have another one lined up, unless you're prepared to lose your economic footing. Grandma would have told her that.
Taylor spent her savings, and it was more difficult to pay for child care. Which leads to the next lesson: If you don't "communicate well" with your financially irresponsible boyfriend, don't have three kids with him.
As Dewan relates, Taylor, formerly in the Air Force, paid for most everything having to do with the kids; Duncan contributed little. Meanwhile, Taylor decided she wanted to be an engineer, enrolled at a community college, and somehow racked up $30,000 in student loans. Taylor also admits she once tested positive for marijuana while pregnant.
Dewan peppers this sob story with an interview with an economist and statistics about the falling rate of child care subsidies. As if society led her to the ultimate bad decision of leaving the kids in a hot car.
Now flush with cash from her generous fans, Taylor and Duncan are living together in a rental home, which she furnished while waiting for the state to return her kids.
We can't wait for the sequel.
UPDATE November 2014: Shanesha Taylor Fails to Fund Kids' Trusts; Prosecution to Move Forward
Got a tip? Send it to: Ray Stern.
Follow Valley Fever on Twitter at @ValleyFeverPHX. Follow Ray Stern on Twitter at @RayStern.
