The thing is that at least in my corner of Europe, fast food costs about the same as a filling meal in a sit down restaurant that doesn't deep fry or microwave everything.

There is an exception but they only have 3 locations in one single town. They've barely raised their prices in the last decade, they're actually pretty fast, and there's nearly always a bunch of people queued up.

Was not my experience in the US. $1 fast food meals were a thing in 2016. A disgusting one.