BOISE—Faced with sharply rising costs, local man Gary Nolan announced Monday that he’s officially too poor to pay attention. “I haven’t been able to catch a single word in months,” lamented Nolan, explaining he first lost interest on a layaway plan.

Economists predict attention costs could destabilize the entire listening economy. “You can’t economize empathy,” warned economist Ruth Pfaff, watching people’s attention giveaways dwindle to mere seconds.

In a bizarre twist, Nolan declared he’d file for Attention-Deficit Bankruptcy, a new legal category. “Count me out of this attention arms race,” he insisted, instead opting to absently snack while the world continues to speak.