Believe it or not...
There are actually more reliable sources on the configuration and history of the New Deal, and the legislation and politics involved, than your mother, who I'm sure is, or was, a fine woman.
But hey, you pick the reality that works for you, right?
The New Deal will dismantle itself, quite messily, when it becomes mathematically impossible. In 1945 there were 42 workers per Social Security retiree. Currently, there are less than three.
Something that can't go on forever won't.