> we are transferring value from our current standard of living to pay for retirement checks

Isn’t this just what happens when you have an inverted pyramid (older population is larger than the younger population)?

> One can argue that PEs make the business more efficient

I’ve never seen it (I agree with you). To improve something they’d have to understand the business and do a bunch of work. Mostly they show up at quarterly meetings and want spreadsheets that measure some number that will go up (regardless if that number means anything).

> if you wanna fix or ban PE, solve pensions

How does one solve pensions?