our economy: how do we pay for it

[kalakoa]

I often see this opinion: "we don't need more resorts", sometimes more generally "no growth of any kind", and I wonder: where is our revenue supposed to come from? Is everyone getting a pension and/or social security, and if so, why do they get to decide that the rest of us don't need any opportunities?
Along similar lines: the idea that "TMT won't bring in as much money as tourism ... therefore it's a waste of time".
What do we want our future to be? Can we do better than a MIRAB economy?