> ... snipped their cash in half ...
Actually, they snipped their cash in two, not in half.
This is one of several afflictions that lurk in modern language, ignored by nearly all. Another is the use of phrases like "similar effect to ..." where "effect similar to ..." is the correct form. Notwithstanding how it grates on one's ear, this second egregious malaprop seems to be the preferred form.
Oh, well. Since print is today either dead or dying, largely replaced by chatbot-generated prose, this kind of complaint might be likened to critical assessment of a cave drawing.
This is a standard English idiom: https://dictionary.cambridge.org/thesaurus/cut-in-half. You may not like it, or think it's illogical, but that doesn't make it incorrect.
> This is a standard English idiom ...
Certainly true.
> ... but that doesn't make it incorrect.
Also true, and not a claim I made.
> Another is the use of phrases like "similar effect to ..." where "effect similar to ..." is the correct form.
They have slightly different meanings. Use the first one when describing the actions that cause the effects, use the second one when describing the effects themselves. Though I suppose "effect similar to" could be used in either case, depending on what came before it.