Talk about half a dollar - it has to be earned (6)
I believe the answer is:
salary
'it has to be earned' is the definition.
The definition suggests a singular noun which matches the answer.
'talk about half a dollar' is the wordplay.
'talk' becomes 'say' (I've seen this in another clue).
'about' means one lot of letters goes inside another.
'half a' suggests halving the letters.
'dollar' cut in half is 'lar'.
'say' placed around 'lar' is 'SALARY'.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for salary that I've seen before include "Annual pay" , "Wages" , "Remuneration for work done" , "Regular monthly wage" , "payment only for non-manual workers" .)