Matagorda Bay Pilots handles ships arriving in Port Lavaca, midway between Houston and Corpus Christi.

ECONOMIST: The other Texas

Galveston, Matagorda and Brazoria County employees, many of them union members, have seen their retirement savings grow every year, even during the Great Recession.

FORBES: How Three Texas Counties Created Personal Social Security Accounts and Prospered

He bought a share in the association, which owns two boats and has its head offices in Port O'Connor at the head of Matagorda Bay.

ECONOMIST: The other Texas