This is an interesting read, and won the Bastiat prize for journalism, 2007. Thanks Amrita for pointing this out.

Some excerpts:
"Humans, you see, are fooled by appearances. Come to them as a wrinkled monster with horns, and they recoil. Pretend to be a loving grandpa, and their defences are down."

"Even more, it has disincentivised landlords from looking after rent-controlled houses, some of which are close to falling apart. Gravity is an invention of hell, I am proud to remind you!"