The town of Mount Airy, N.C., is known not only for Andy Griffith but also for its classic architecture. Xiaomei Chen/The Washington Post/Getty Images

MOUNT AIRY, N.C. — In this picturesque town of 10,000 people near the North Carolina–Virginia border, the inspiration for the fictional Mayberry on “The Andy Griffith Show” where people tend to pepper their sentences with “honey” and “sweetie,” residents are angry.

They are angry that the government is still shut down.

“I’m disgusted that they can’t get a handle on it and they can’t cooperate with each other to get the Americans’ needs met,” said Dennis Williams, 56, a retired CIA agent who works at Talley’s Custom Frame and Gallery downtown.

They are angry about the fiscal state of affairs in the country.

“In my opinion, the president, the vice president, all the administrators, all of the federal judges, every congressman, every senator should do without their pay until we have reduced the debt,” fumed Sylvia Lowry, 56, a voice teacher at Olde Mill Music. “When I was in debt, you know who paid it back? I stinkin’ did, and you know how I did it? I cut back. Every nincompoop can tell you what to do. They’re just not willing to do it.”

They are angry at President Barack Obama and about the Affordable Care Act (ACA), which most confess they do not fully understand.

“Obama’s not willing to do anything. It’s almost like he’s a dictator,” said Janan Blankowski, 50, a sales associate at the general store. “(House Speaker John) Boehner and the Republicans only want to extend it a year so normal people can figure out what it is and what they want. What’s the rush?”

They’re so mad that sometimes they tune out the other side completely.

“It takes two to make such a big mess,” Evelyn Newman, 67, confessed while Fox News played on the television in her restaurant, the Blue Bird Diner. “I don’t like Obama very much, so I don’t listen to him a lot.”