Having been through more "classic" VC a couple of times and now PE as well I agree. PE is so much more nefarious and damaging. When you take 100+ M of VC gasoline and pour it on the fire everyone can see what's happening. PE funds want juicy annual returns of free cash and a multiplier sell out; it puts revenue pressure and forces cost control that destroys successful businesses in one funding cycle that might have been doing just find for decades. And nobody but the C-suite and investors gets rich.
That's a wild take. Hedge funds and PE have corrupted and taken over said pension funds then pushing funds into these usurious ventures by claiming that the pension fund "needs to keep up with the market" is another huge sign of decay.
Sure, this was kind of a tongue in cheek comment. But the door is open to these types of investments to the degree that state pensions are underfunded. And PE is only finishing the job of corruption started by the politicians who underfunded these liabilities for decades.